Adjusting to Luke
by MrsWhitlock143
Summary: Sequel to "A Lesson Long Overdue". It's about how Jace adjusts to life at Luke's house. Warning: Contains spankings. Don't like, don't read, don't flame.
1. Moving In

Jace's POV

I sit uncomfortable squirming in the backseat of Luke's pickup truck as we drive back to his house. It had been already a half hour since we left Hunters Moon and we were still only halfway to the house. I kicked my legs slightly and tried to squirm inconspicuously. My butt was still terrible sore from the spanking I had received at the bar.

_God, why does the trip have to be so long? Better yet, why does Luke's hand have to be so Goddamn hard!_

"Jace, you alright back there?" Luke peered at me over his shoulder, a smile forming at his lips. I glared back at him and shook my head "no". My backside was throbbing because of him and he's laughing!

"I'm not laughing at you, Jace. I just find it rather amusing your constant squirming –you make it seem like what I gave you was the hardest thing to endure. And don't blame me for punishing you –you brought that on yourself, young man." He spoke firmly and I realized I had been voicing my thoughts out loud. I grimaced as I tried to shift my weight onto my hip but the stupid seatbelt was preventing me from moving very much.

"Sorry. I know you wouldn't have hit me without good reason to." I mumbled softly, knowing Luke would hear it, but hopefully not Clary. Apparently she did because she cast a sad glance my way. I buried my head shamefully in my hands and resumed writhing in my seat.

_Stupid Luke. I'm a Shadowhunter; I don't need to be wearing a freaking seatbelt. God, this hurts! _

I have always had a high resistance for pain, but I suppose that didn't apply to my backside. I usually tried to never show I was in pain but this time it was seemingly impossible. I slowly reached over to unbuckle the seatbelt restraining me but Luke's voice stopped me.

"Don't you dare undo that seatbelt, Jace Lightwood. I don't care if you are a Shadowhunter, wolf, warlock, mundane, whatever it is –you ride in my car, you wear a seatbelt. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable, but you are just going to have to endure a while longer."

I let out a frustrated groan. How could he possibly know what I was going to do? I guess Clary was right; Luke really does have eyes in the back of his head. Or a little mirror at the top of the car that gives him access to see what I'm doing in the backseat.

I narrowed my eyes at the little mirror, pondering what would happen if I would just break it. I was snapped out of my thoughts by Clary's soft, gentle, Clary-like tone.

"Jace… Are you okay? You seem like you're really in pain. I've never seen you that way before." She looked at me with appeared to be love –a love she shouldn't be feeling and neither should I. We should love each other –that much is true –but as the brother and sister that we are. Yet we don't; we love each other as lovers would.

I remembered she had spoken to me and I answered, "Yeah I'm fine. Haven't you ever been hit by Luke before? You should know how I'm feeling right now."

I watched in confusion as she shook her head. "I've never been spanked by Luke before. Or my mother. Or by anyone really. I think you're the first one Luke has ever done this to."

I stared horrified at Luke. We paused at a red light and he glanced back at me.

"It's true, Jace. You are the first person to cross me so much that I spanked you. And I didn't hit you; I spanked you. Learn the difference, kid."

I stuttered a bit. This was totally unfair! "Wait I don't think that's fair! You sp-sp-punished me back at the bar, but you've never done it to anyone else before? And you said if I "misbehaved" you would do it again –what about Clary? Simon, even?"

Luke sighed. "They've never really given me reason to have to resort to that; you, however, are another matter entirely. I mean it though; you better hold your tongue and do as I say or you will find yourself sporting another sore backside."

He turned back to finish the drive home and I glared down at my hands. That really wasn't fair. I, Jace Lightwood, am getting threatened with spankings when my sister –I shuddered as I thought of Clary as my sister –and her ridiculous mundane are getting off everything they do, scotch-free.

"Alright guys, we're here." Luke announced and I shot out of the car so fast you would've thought it was on fire!

I stood outside the house rubbing my backside with a vengeance. God, this was ridiculous! I have never felt so childish before. I forced myself to quit rubbing and I turned back to get my single bag from the bed of the truck.

"Tomorrow we'll go buy you some more clothes, Jace; I know you don't have much with you." Luke stated. I nodded and started heading to the house with Clary walked by my side. I eyed her sideways, longing to kiss her, hold her, touch her... But I can't. She just had to be my sister, didn't she?

"Alright Jace, you're going to be sleeping in the bedroom upstairs, down the hall and to your left. The one to the right is my room." Clary informed me. I looked at her and gave a tight smile and nod to acknowledge what she said.

Luke stepped in front of us all of a sudden and I had to hide my tiny flinch. I forgot how fast werewolves could be, even in human form. He unlocked the front door to the house and stepped aside. I waited politely for Clary to walk in before entering myself.

I entered Luke's place and sighed gratefully. Sometimes I didn't think I deserved some things that happen to me -I definitely didn't deserve to be kicked out of the Institute, but I didn't think I deserved for Luke to be taking me in either.

I began to walk up the stairs when a firm yet gentle hand descended upon my left shoulder. I turned around slowly, eyebrow raised in question. Luke raised one of his eyebrows as well and I let mine drop to its proper position.

"I'm about to order some dinner, Jace. What do you feel like eating?" He asked as he removed his hand from my shoulder. I shrugged. "Whatever you order, I'll eat it." Luke sighed and went to the kitchen and I heard his muffled conversation with what seemed to be a pizza place.

I began to walk up the stairs and tried to remember which way Clary said to turn to go to my room._ Right or left? Left... _

I chanced taking a left down the hallway and was rewarded by a nearly empty guest room. I walked in and shut the door behind me, while setting down my bag on the bed. I unzipped it and quickly unpacked the few items I brought and put them away in drawers. I grabbed the bag and put it in the closet before going back to sit down on the bed -only then to shoot back up as I remembered I had not yet acquired the ability to sit just yet.

Frustrated, I mumbled curses at the bed and at my own stupidity before throwing myself face-down on the white sheeted mattress. I heard a knock at my door and groaned loudly. I was thankful and all, but couldn't people just leave me alone for a while?

The ever persistent knock came again but I continued to ignore it. Once it sounded a third time, the person knocking gave up and just walked in. Clary.

I felt as she walked in and shut the door gently before walking over to sit on my bed. She sat at my side while I craned my neck around to look at her.

"I came in to see how you were doing, Jace. You know after what happened with Maryse, being kicked out, that fight, and everything. So, how are you? Doing I mean?" I smiled slightly as Clary stumbled over her words.

"I'm okay. A bit disappointed that the woman I had always thought of as my mother just sent me away from the place I called home for seven years, a bit riled up from the fight, but nothing serious. Thanks for asking, Clary." I flipped onto my side, wincing a little bit and propped up on my elbow. "So, how are _you _doing, Clary?"

She looked baffled for a moment. "Me?" At my nod she continued. "Um, okay I guess. Despite everything, I'm a bit happy you're coming to live with us. Is that wrong?"

I sighed, hesitating. It was wrong in a way but right in others. I shrugged my shoulders at her question before leaning in to her a little more.

"I can't answer that Clarissa. But maybe you can answer this: would it be wrong if I kissed you right now?" I knew it would, we were siblings after all. But it would feel right.

She hesitantly shrugged and I took that as my cue. I leaned forward a bit more and so did she; our faces were inches apart. "Well, wrong or not I'm going to do it anyways." Saying that, I closed the distance between Clary and I and brushed my lips against hers. She returned the gesture and then she came a little stronger. I responded by grabbing the back of her head and pulling her closer until I was breathing her breath, crashing my lips against hers, feeling hands go around my neck -and then the door opened.

Clary and I paused our kissing and looked hastily at the figure in my doorway -Luke.

"Well, well look what we have here. You two mind separating just a little bit?"Luke demanded. Reluctantly, I flopped back down on my stomach and Clary, blushing, walked past Luke and out the door.

_Damn it. _

"Jace, the food is here. Come downstairs and eat with us." Luke suggested and I quickly denied the request to join their dinner. Again, Luke insisted I come sit and eat with them. Eventually, he asked me so many times that I snapped.

"I already told you ten fucking times, I am not going to go down and eat that shit! Leave me the Hell alone and stop asking me to come sit downstairs with you, Clary, and the mundane because I know he's there."

**SMACK!**

"Yeouch!" I exclaimed, rolling off the bed with a hand at my backside. I got to my feet and stared incredulously at Luke.

"Watch your mouth, Jace Lightwood! I will not tolerate that colorful language in this house and I suggest you regard me with respect. We just had this discussion not even two hours ago! You need another reminder so soon?" Luke lectured as I rubbed at the reignited sting blooming across my behind. It may have only been one warning swat, but on top of a sore backside it hurt worse than it probably would have.

"Sorry." I mumbled. I wasn't really sorry and Luke could probably tell as much.

He closed the distance between us and I couldn't help but flinch back as he grabbed my upper arm. "Come on, it's time to eat. Watch yourself, Jace; I'm not kidding." With a firm grip still on my arm, he led me downstairs and into the kitchen where Clary -and guess who? -were sitting at the table already beginning to eat pizza. Luke pulled out a chair and put me in it. I nearly shot right back up, but his hands held me down and I could barely contain the yelp that threatened to escape my lips. Simon peered over at me and smiled, bemused. Tauntingly.

"Well, well. Looks like the pretty bad boy got a spanking tonight, didn't he? Sucks to be you; the famous, rebellious Jace Morgenstern -Wayland, Lightwood -not being able to sit down properly because his ass is hurting." Simon laughed. I was about to say something back but Luke beat me to it.

"Simon watch your language. And quit taunting Jace or he won't be the only one not being able to sit right tonight." Simon gaped at Luke before numbly nodding and returning to his food, suddenly finding it very intriguing.

I smirked and felt Luke's gaze on me. I hid my smile behind my hand and reached across the table for a slice of pizza. I could feel Simon's hard glare on me and I couldn't help myself. I laughed.

"Not so fun teasing me now that your butt is on the line, huh mundane?" I grinned cheekily at him and heard Luke interrupt _my _teasing.

"Jace!" He called sharply. I shut my mouth before I could get into any more trouble and started nibbling on my food.

After about 25 minutes, I couldn't withstand sitting down on the hard wooden chair any longer. I bounced my feet on the floor before suddenly pushing my chair back and standing up with the excuse of being finished with my dinner.

"I'll be in my room if anyone needs me. But could you all do me a favor? Don't need me." I said as I turned away and bounding up the steps.

I went straight to the bathroom for a shower and before stepping in, I decided to check how badly my rear looked; just out of curiosity.

I stared at the sight of it. It was beet-red with a fresh handprint from the earlier swat.

_Damn... _

I shook my head and stepped into the shower; twenty minutes later I was out and in bed. I was exhausted from today's events and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

Luke's POV

I sat at the edge of my bed getting ready to go to bed as Clary said she would be doing so and I assumed that's what Jace did as well. I rubbed my temples before falling onto my back on the bed.

_Jace, Jace, Jace... I hope you can learn rules as quickly as combat strategies. _


	2. The House Rules

Luke's POV

I opened my eyes feeling like I could still use another hour or so of sleep. I groaned and rubbed the fogginess from my eyes as I glanced at the clock next to my bed. 6:00 AM. I knew I had to wake up as I always awoke at this hour. Today, I was exceptionally tired, no doubt because of everything that happened last night. I sighed staring up at my ceiling for a few minutes before forcing myself to roll out of bed.

I hit the shower and took my time, letting the hot water run over me, relaxing my tense muscles. I emerged fifteen minutes later and dressed quickly, making my way down to the kitchen.

_Maybe some coffee will help me wake up a little more. _I thought as I began to prepare the coffee-maker.

An hour later, I was sitting at the kitchen table, engrossed in my newspaper, sipping my fifth cup of coffee. I checked my watch; 7:30 AM.

I stood up and made my way up to Jace's room. I knew that Jace usually woke up around the same time that I always did, but I figured if he hadn't gotten up on his own, I would let the kid sleep in a while. He deserved some rest.

I gently opened his door and peered inside. Absolute darkness. I walked in fully and went over to the window and drew the curtains aside, letting light filter the room. I heard Jace stirring in his bed and I turned around to see him propped up on his forearms, glaring up at me.

"Dude. Seriously?" He asked grumpily. I guess he doesn't appreciate being woken up this way.

"I'm sorry Jace. It's time to wake up, bud. It's nearly 8:00." I walked over to him and sat down next to him; I smiled and ruffles his hair, which apparently he didn't like. He pulled back and tousled his hair back to the way it looked before and I rolled my eyes. He was even picky about how his bed-head looked.

"Come on Jace, get up. I have some things I want to talk to you about."

He eyed me carefully. "I've been here a night. I've been sleeping all night. What could I have possible done that you want to talk to me about?"

I smiled a little at his question. "I didn't say you did anything, Jace; I just said I wanted to talk to you." I had to contain my amusement as he let out a relieved sigh. I patted his back before standing up and walking to the door. "Be downstairs in half an hour, please." I added before walking out the door. I heard a very loud groan come from inside the bedroom and I rolled my eyes again before making my way downstairs again.

Jace's POV

I groaned and rolled out of my bed, careful to not let my backside touch the bed. I guess I shouldn't be complaining; I always used to wake up really early, and it's nearly eight now. Luke was nice enough to let me sleep in. I gave the air a half smile and walked stiffly to the shower.

Twenty minutes later, I was out of the shower drying my hair with a towel when I froze in my tracks; someone was in my room. Simon.

"What are you doing here, mundane?" I spat. He knows I don't really like him and I can tell he doesn't like me either, so why does he keep bothering me. "You know you're starting to become a pest."

"Me? You just moved here; I've been hanging out in this house for years." He retorted. I resorted back to my earlier question.

"What do you want?" I walked over to the drawer and grabbed a t-shirt at random and threw it on. It was Blue. I shrugged at glanced back up at Clary's little friend.

"I'm here because I want to tell you something."

"This better be good if you decided to stalk me while I was in the shower and everything."

Simon looked at me baffled. "Stalked you? What? No! I -whatever man. Look I know you and Clary are brother and sister but I also know that you two are in love with each other. And I want you to stop."

Now it was my turn to looked baffled. "Stop? Stop what, loving her?"

Simon shook his head. "No. I mean stop torturing her. I know you kissed her last night; she was flushed when she came downstairs. If you two know you're brother and sister, you should try to set aside your feelings for each other -you're just hurting her more, Jace and I won't let you hurt her any longer."

I opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Luke's voice, booming up the stairs. "Jace! It's been over thirty minutes, already!"

I looked at the door but didn't move towards it. Instead, I looked back at Simon. "Look mundane. I know you love Clary. I do too. If what you're telling me is true, that she's only getting more hurt whenever I touch her because we're brother and sister, then just distract her. I can't pretend I don't care; well I could but that would affect her too. Simon, there's no way around this."

Shit. I called him Simon; now he knows I'm really serious. "Jace I know it's hard. But I swear if you touch her in any way that a brother wouldn't, I will personally come up here and kick your ass. I don't want her to keep getting hurt because of you." Before I could answer, Simon marched on over to the door, threw it open and disappeared down the hallway. I had to bite back a whimper -Jace Lightwood -or would that be Morgenstern now? -doesn't whimper. Unless he's getting his ass beat, according to last night's events.

I threw on some jeans, hissing when the material scraped against my aching backside.

_Guess that's not healed yet. I don't think a Healing Rune would do me much good either. This is bullshit. _

I slowly made my way downstairs to the living room and found Luke standing in front of the couch, arms crossed.

"What?" I asked indignantly.

He raised his eyebrow. "What? I said half an hour."

"Sorry, I was caught up. Lost track of time in the shower. So, what did you need to talk to me about, Luke?" I asked him. He gestured that I should sit down, and I shook my head; it seems like since yesterday, nothing is going my way, because eventually I was sitting grim-faced on the couch, trying hard not to squirm.

"Alright Jace. Since you're going to be living in my house, you're going to have to follow my house rules." He informed me. I snorted.

"House rules? Sounds like something you set for a dog."

"They're not, they're something you set for anything or anyone living in your house. Now, listen closely because I'm only going to tell you the rules once. Are you listening?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yes I'm listening. Do you want me to take notes too?" Apparently, Luke is not too fond of jokes where lack of respect is concerned.

"Jace." That's all he had to say. He said my name once, and I immediately shut my mouth and wiped the grin from my face.

_Man, I've been here one night, one stinking night, and already he's got some kind of control over me. _

Luke began pacing up and down the length of the couch and held up a finger for each rule, counting them off.

"Rule #1: No back-talk. That includes, sassing me, excessive sarcasm when it's not needed, and definitely no disrespect." He paused when I raised my hand. "Yes?"

"Define disrespect, exactly." I needed to be sure how far I could push him without getting in trouble.

"I consider it disrespect if give me bad attitude when you speak to me or if you ignore me when I'm speaking to you. Making faces at me is also disrespectful. Okay?" I nodded and waited for him to continue. "Okay. Rule #2: No cursing. Do I have to specify that too?" I narrowed my eyes at him and remembered that was considered disrespectful. I shook my head and prompted him to continue on to the next house rule.

"Rule #3: No fighting; Rule #4: No disobedience. That means if I tell you to do something, you do it. If I tell you not to do something, you don't do it. Got it?" I shifted around and tried to sit on my hip.

"Yes I've got it so far."

"Good. Now, Rule #5." I groaned quietly. How many rules were there?! He continued speaking. "Always pick up after yourself, but I don't think that will be a problem for you. Clary tells me you keep everything clean and organized anyways, right?" I nodded for about the billionth time. Luke nodded as well and resumed his list of what he expected from me.

"Rule #6: No teasing, taunting, mocking or picking on each other. If someone does something, says something, or gets in trouble, you are not allowed to tease them, nor are they allowed to tease you. Rule #7: Wear your seatbelt at all times when in the car. Alright, kid those are the basic house rules. You think you can follow them?" Luke finished.

"Maybe... What happens if I break one of the rules?" I inquired.

"Well, you would either get grounded or spanked. I think the latter would create better results in your case, but we'll see. Good?"

"Yeah." I stood up and frowned as my stomach made a rumbling noise. "Sh." I tried to shush it, causing laughter to erupt from Luke. He walked over to me and draped an arm across my shoulders.

"Come on, let's get Clary and Simon and we'll all go have breakfast somewhere."

I couldn't help myself -I smiled. I hadn't been here very long, yet Luke was already starting to make me feel like I was part of the family. Valentine may have been my father, but it felt more like it should be Luke claiming his role as my dad.

"Sounds great." I replied, grinning. Luke walked up the stairs and returned five minutes later with a two more very hungry teenagers.

I groaned internally as we walked outside. I had forgotten that I would have to ride in the car and I wouldn't even be able to make myself comfortable since Luke makes us wear seatbelts all the time.

"Alright guys, hop in."

I gestured to Simon. "Ladies first." I held the car door open for him and waited, grinning, as he glared daggers at me before climbing into the car. I noticed he was carrying a pillow behind his back.

"What's that for, mundie?" I asked him as I climbed in to the car after him. He grinned at me cheekily and placed the pillow on the seat before I could sit down.

"It's for you; I figured you'd still be sore." I glared at him but was secretly thankful for the comfort that the pillow provided for my sore behind.

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you." I hissed at him.

I heard Luke clear his throat. "Jace, we just went over the rules; Simon you know them already. Leave each other alone. I mean it!"

Simon glanced down bashfully but I looked down to hide the smile forming on my lips.

"Jace, don't think I don't see you smiling! Wipe that grin off your face unless you want to be in trouble."

I pressed my lips together to keep the smile in check and I leaned back in my pillowed seat before I felt Luke's expectant gaze burning through me. I glanced at him quizzically.

"The rules Jace. Remember them." Luke said, but didn't take his eyes off of me. I skimmed my memory for the rules and glanced down. Luke looked away as I finally buckled my seatbelt.


	3. Shadowhunter vs Mundane

Jace's POV

The drive to wherever we were headed was much shorter than I expected. Luke pulled up in front of a place called "Dunkin Donuts".

I frowned as I exited the car, Clary and Luke already outside and Simon trailing behind me. "I'm pretty sure that's not how you spell doughnuts."

The three of them smiled at me but it was Clary who responded. "It's not. But that's how this place spelled it in order to keep it cute and short."

_Cute and short, like you? _I wanted to say, but didn't. If the mundane was right, then that simple comment could possible break her heart since we could never be together. So, instead I said, "Oh."

We all walked inside and I hit with the smell of doughnuts, coffee, and bread. I looked around watching all the mundanes as they chattered, ate, and walked in and out. I followed Luke, Clary, and Simon to a rope that said "Line Starts Here". I eyed it then ducked under it and stood on the other side of the rope, in front of everybody else. I heard some people behind me complaining and I turned to say something back at them, when I was hauled back by the collar of my shirt. Luke.

"What are you doing, Jace?" He questioned, pulling me close to him. Simon was staring at me like if I was stupid and Clary was visibly fighting back laughter.

"I was going to order food; what did it look like I was doing?" I answered grumpily.

"It looked like you skipped everybody in line. There's a sign Jace; you can't duck under it and pass in front of everyone. You have to wait your turn back here with us." Luke informed me. I made a face at this new information.

"Okay, geez sorry. You guys don't have to give me dirty looks; I'm used to waiters and immediate service not waiting in line." I muttered pulling my shirt free of Luke's grasp. I could tell he wasn't really angry with me, but probably a little annoyed that I started a fuss with everyone else, even if it was by accident. I stood quietly in the line next to Luke -Clary and Simon had gone to sit down, already having told Luke what they wanted.

After what seemed like an eternity, and my stomach probably being able to be heard all the way Idris, it was our turn.

"Welcome to Dunkin Donuts, what would you like?" The woman at the register asked us. Luke looked at me and asked me what I wanted. I didn't know what most of the things on the menu were, so I just picked at random.

"Uh, bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich?" The lady nodded and asked what I wanted to drink. "Water."

Luke ordered next for Clary, Simon, and himself and soon we were joining at the single table in the corner of the small place.

"Did you learn how this place works yet, Jace?" Simon asked mockingly. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes, I did."

Simon rolled his eyes and went back to eating his food. I eyed mine and finally bit into it, surprised at how good it actually tasted.

I ate my breakfast sandwich quickly and downed my bottle of water.

"You were really hungry, weren't you kid?" Luke asked me, chuckling slightly. I nodded and shifted on my seat. I can sit better -not by very much -but I needed to control my squirming since we were in public. I watched for several minutes as the three of them ate.

"You guys eat really slowly." I observed and Clary shook her head, smiling. Simon looked at me thoughtfully.

_Please don't be about talk, please don't be about to talk, please don't be about to talk… _

"We eat at a normal speed; you're the one that eats too fast. Maybe if you would have grown up in a civilized home, you would have better manners."

I raised my brow at Simon and saw from the corner of my eye, Luke smacking Simon's arm; a quieting gesture.

"'Civilized home'? Is that what you are, civilized? I didn't think civilized was a fancy word for sissy but I guess it is since apparently you're civilized." I shot back. This time, Luke smacked my arm but I barely registered it.

"I may not be a Shadowhunter like you, but I'm not a sissy either, dumb-ass."

"Fuck off, geek."

"Could you two please stop?!" I heard Clary pleading and my heart immediately went out to her, but I went cold again as Simon decided to continue this lovely conversation.

"Geek? Better a geek than a megalomaniac bastard who thinks he's better than everyone else!" Simon retorted.

"Boys that's quite enough." Luke reprimanded but I didn't hear him.

"I don't think I'm better than everybody else; I know I am. And really, mundane, megalomaniac bastard is the best you can come up with? You really suck at the insult contest. Well, honestly you suck in general. You suck big, hairy -"

"Alright, enough! Jace, Simon come with me!" Luke exclaimed, clearly upset at the hostile insults Simon and I threw at each other. Clary looked on the verge of tears and I immediately regretted everything I said to Simon; I knew he was her best friend and it hurt her when I mistreated him, but I know it must hurt the way he treats me too. I stood up and began to follow Luke and then saw Simon was a few steps ahead of me. I lurched forward, bumping him into the wall. He glared daggers at me and tried to shove me, but I side-stepped easily.

I was just about to grab him and send him flying across the room, when we were both grabbed by our ears by Luke. He twisted my ear and apparently the geek's as well since he cried out in pain. "Ow, my ear!"

Some people turned to stare at us and others barely gave us a second glance. They probably thought it was a dad dealing with his two errant teenagers.

He dragged us to the side of the counter and calmly asked the lady behind it if she could direct us to the bathroom. She pointed behind her and to the right, and Luke hauled us over to where he was directed. He released Simon's ear and twisted the knob on the bathroom door before opening it and throwing us both inside it.

I rubbed at my ear wondering why Luke would possibly bring us into a bathroom. A memory of this morning came sharply into view: Luke pacing the living room floor, ticking off the rules.

_No cursing; No fighting; No ignoring me when I talk to you. _

My eyes widened as I realized Simon and I had broken three very serious rules. Luke shut the door and turned to face the both of us. The bathroom was rather large but somehow Luke managed to corner us both.

"What do you think you two were doing out there?! Cursing, insulting, shoving each other and ignoring me when I tell you to stop? You both know that that is completely unacceptable behavior -I know you two don't get along, but all the extremes are bad. What is going on with the two of you? I don't remember that the two of you absolutely could not stand each other's presence as it appears now. Would one of you care to explain? That is not an option." Luke lectured firmly. Simon and I looked at each other, unkindly before looking back at Luke.

"We just don't get along, is all." I muttered in explanation. Luke grit his teeth.

"You two were doing just fine; what happened?" He threw his hands up in exasperation. I couldn't help but try to defend myself.

"He started this!" I pointed out childishly. "He's the one who started insulting my upbringing, saying I'd eat normally if I was brought up in a civilized home! It's not fair that I get in trouble too." I was on the verge of whining, but I would never do that with this filthy mundane present.

Luke gave us a hard look. "I am fully aware that Simon started this, but you Jace, did not have to finish it. You are just as responsible in this as he is. I don't want you the two of you to treat each other like this anymore, and certainly never resort to violence!" At that last part, his gaze fell upon me. It was true I shoved him first but I just couldn't help myself. I was angry and he was weak and vulnerable.

"Furthermore, playful teasing is one thing, but the downright disrespect you were showing each other is what especially upsets me. I want the two of you to apologize to each other. And you Jace," he whirled on me again. "I don't think you are in any position to be landing yourself in more trouble. I can see you still can't sit properly and what has transpired today is definitely not going to help you get comfortable any faster. You are grounded and you will be receiving a spanking for this. You, Simon, will also be getting spanked but I cannot ground you as you do not live with me. And that language of yours better be brought under control as well. If I ever catch you two treating each other this harshly again, I promise you, you won't be sitting for a very long time. Now, apologize to each other. Go on."

Simon and I stared at each other, neither one of us wanting to be the first to act contrite. A very hard spank landed on both of our behinds and I yelped half in pain, half in surprise. Simon began stumbling over his apology. Guess he was going first then.

"Sorry, Jace. I shouldn't have started insulting you like that when you didn't even say anything to provoke me. I promise I'll try to lay off." Luke looked at me expectantly and reluctantly I gave my apology as well.

"I'm sorry for insulting you back and shoving you." I stated half-heartedly.

"That's better. Okay, Simon turn around and face the wall. Jace," He grabbed my arm and led me to a metal rail on the wall on the other side of the restroom. "Bend over."

I felt my cheeks go hot. I was gonna be spanked and the mundane was there to witness it! Talk about humiliation…

"Jace." Luke snapped me out of my thoughts and I unwillingly bent over, holding on to the rail. I felt Luke grip my waist with one arm while he brought the other hand down sharply on my upturned behind.

I had to hold back my cries though it was kind of hard to do. I lasted about twenty smacks before I could take no more of the humiliation and reignited flame in my backside.

"Please, Luke stop! Ow, I'm sorry!" Luke turned a deaf ear on my pleas and continued to beat my poor behind about twenty-five or so more times before finally stopping. He allowed me to stand upright again and I did so hesitantly, not quite believing he was letting me get away with 45 smacks only. I was right.

"Don't think this was all -this will be continued when we get back home. Go switch places with Simon."

I wiped the few tears that had dared to spill over and Simon and I switched places. It felt humiliating to stand facing the wall, but better that than getting thrashed.

I heard as Luke gave Simon the same amount of smacks he gave me, and though Simon didn't have an already sore rear, he cried out at about the same time that I had.

_Wimp. _I thought, shaking my head. Luke finally let Simon stand up again and he called me over.

"Let's go; Clary's probably worried. We're going home now. And I want one of you in the front seat with me."

Simon and I looked at each other. "You're sitting in the front." We both said simultaneously. We gave each other the smallest of smiles and Simon declared, "One, two, three, not it!" He gave a triumphant smile as he was led out of the bathroom by Luke, with me following behind them.

"No fair, I didn't know how to play that game." I muttered. The three of us got different glances as we exited the bathroom; some amused, some sympathetic, some proud. I wanted to punch them all.

We made it back to Clary and she turned away from us without saying another word.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x

The trip back was agonizing as I had to sit up front with a still angry and embarrassed Luke, and I had left my pillow in the back seat. It was being occupied by Simon now, that ridiculous child.

When we parked at Luke's house, he opened the door and practically dragged Simon and I inside.

"Jace go to your room; Simon wait in my room."He commanded. I worried that Clary was going to be in the house and overhear but I relaxed when she stated, "I'm going to be outside."

I dragged my feet up the steps, not liking the predicament I was currently in. I was still sore from yesterday but I still managed to earn myself another spanking. I really hoped I made it a habit to learn Luke's rules quickly. I was going to really have to force myself to not get into trouble for at least a month.

_Bullshit. I should have probably taken notes and taped them to my forehead so I wouldn't forget to not cross the line. Simon had it coming though; he started it. 'Least he's in trouble too. _

I miserably walked into my room and tried to rub out as much of the sting as I possibly could. No point in having Luke swat me while I could still feel the pain -I'd rather alleviate it before he gets it burning again.

After about five minutes, I heard Luke knocking on my door before entering. He crossed his arms after closing the door behind him and gave me a long look. He shook his head, disappointed and I hung my head a bit.

He moved closer to me and I stiffened. I didn't take I was going to be able to handle this upcoming punishment but I also knew there was no way to escape it.

_When you cannot change the outcome, you must endure. Now, where have I heard that before? _

Luke came to stand before me and he led me over to the bed. He sat down but when I went to bend over his knees he stopped me.

"Let's talk for a minute, kid."

I shrugged and took a seat on the very edge of my bed. "Okay, sure let's talk."

Luke shook his head wearily at me. "Jace how is it possible that it is only, " He checked his watch. "10:00 in the morning, your first actual day here, and already you got yourself in trouble? I just don't understand. Is it like your obligation to be disobedient and defiant all the time?"

I looked down at my hands. I really didn't know what to say to him. He firmly, but gently grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. He waited for my answer and I kept coming up blank.

I finally said, "It's not that I want to be defiant all the time, it's just how I've always been allowed to act and you know the saying; old habits die hard."

Luke's gaze bore into mine. "Well, you're going to have to make them die a little bit faster. I don't expect you to be perfect Jace. But you could at least try to live by my rules and try to be nicer to Simon. I know that he would have to put effort into it, but I know you two can at least pretend to get along if you would just try to. I don't want for what happened today to ever happen again. Are you understanding me, Jace?"

I nodded my head in understanding and Luke gestured for me to stand up and told me to undo my jeans. I did so slowly and when they were unbuttoned, Luke yanked them down to pool around my ankles and then pulled me over his knees.

He pushed my boxers down and I shifted uncomfortably.

_I guess I deserve this. _I thought. _But that doesn't mean it's easier to take. _

I waited for Luke to start my punishment, and he didn't make me wait long. In a matter of seconds, Luke had raised his hand and brought it crashing down, hard, on my tender backside.

**SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT **

**SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT**

**SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT**

**SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT **

**SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT SWAT **

I gave our random yelps of pain as his hand peppered my entire backside with firm smacks. Luke apparently felt no sympathy for me and continued to rain down hard smacks on my rear even though it was still in pain from yesterday. That just made it harder to keep quiet, but I managed for a few minutes before the burning became too overwhelming. A few tears spilled over and I began to yell out pleas and promises.

"Ow! Luke, please, I'm sorry! I promise I'll be good. Please, ow! Ah, oh, ow, please! I'll behave, I'll follow the rules! Come on, Luke please! Ow, ow OW!"

Luke turned a deaf ear to my cries and promises and continued to beat my behind. Swat after agonizing swat came down and I began bouncing on Luke's lap, struggling with all my might to get off his lap of torture.

_Curse his damn werewolf strength! _

I felt Luke tipping me forward as he began to thoroughly tend to my untouched sit-spots.

"I am so utterly disappointed in your actions today, Jace." Luke began, each word accentuated with a very hard smack to my sensitive under curve.

"AH!" Was my only response as the pain and humiliation was unbearable.

"You **SWAT** know **SWAT** that **SWAT** you **SWAT** just **SWAT** broke **SWAT** three **SWAT** very** SWAT** serious **SWAT** rules **SWAT** and **SWAT** I** SWAT** told **SWAT** you **SWAT** the **SWAT** consequences **SWAT** of **SWAT** them **SWAT** already. **SWAT** There **SWAT** was** SWAT** no **SWAT** reason **SWAT** for **SWAT** the **SWAT** dispute **SWAT** between **SWAT** you **SWAT** and **SWAT** Simon. **SWAT** I **SWAT** am **SWAT** aware** SWAT** that **SWAT** he **SWAT** started **SWAT** it, **SWAT** but **SWAT** like **SWAT** I** SWAT** said** SWAT** before, **SWAT** you **SWAT** had **SWAT** no **SWAT** right **SWAT** to **SWAT** finish **SWAT** it! **SWAT** Jace,** SWAT** this **SWAT** better **SWAT** not **SWAT** happen **SWAT** again **SWAT** or **SWAT** I **SWAT** promise** SWAT** you,** SWAT** I **SWAT** will **SWAT** take **SWAT** my **SWAT** belt **SWAT** to **SWAT** your **SWAT** sorry **SWAT** behind! **SWAT** Cursing **SWAT** and **SWAT** insulting **SWAT** each **SWAT** other, **SWAT** and **SWAT** then **SWAT** actual **SWAT** physical **SWAT** violence **SWAT** will **SWAT** not **SWAT** be **SWAT** tolerated. **SWAT** I **SWAT** intend **SWAT** to** SWAT** only **SWAT** have **SWAT** to **SWAT** teach** SWAT** you **SWAT** this **SWAT** lesson **SWAT** once, Jace, **SWAT** so I **SWAT** suggest **SWAT** you** SWAT** heed **SWAT** my **SWAT** rules **SWAT** as **SWAT** it **SWAT** will **SWAT** save **SWAT** you** SWAT** a lot **SWAT** of **SWAT** discomfort **SWAT** in **SWAT** the **SWAT** future."

Halfway through the lecture, I just gave in and went limp, sobbing openly over Luke's lap. The pain was just so great, I didn't feel I could handle anymore yet there was nothing I could do; the fight had exhausted completely out of me.

I didn't realize that Luke had even stopped until his formerly punishing hand was rubbing gentle, comforting circles in my back. He put my boxers in their correct position and I cried out.

After a few moments, I had managed to reduce my sobs to soft crying, and I tried to get up. My attempt was futile as Luke still rubbed circles in my back with one hand, but the other hand restrained me from standing up. Sniffling, I craned my neck to peer up at Luke quizzically. He shook his head.

"You are staying over my knees until I allow you to stand up. Sh, there, there calm down. Don't look at me that way; I'm not letting you up yet. Now, to calm down Jace. Sh…."

I tried to mute my crying as the embarrassment of lying across Luke's lap fully registered. I suppose this was a lesson in humiliation; and boy was it working! I was so thoroughly embarrassed that I didn't even try to hold my tears back. I started sobbing my mortification and pain out all over again and then finally, Luke lifted me to an upright position.

I was now seated atop Luke's knee -the same knee I had been bent over -as Luke's right hand held me tightly -the same hand he'd just used to punish me. I would never understand how he did that; be firm and punishing one moment, and gentle and soothing the next. I hoped to never find out the answer.

After several minutes, I brought myself under control and tilted my head up to look at Luke.

"You alright there, kid?" He asked me. I nodded my head and my voice came out as a squeaky "Yes".

"I'm sorry I had to punish you like that Jace, but I'm not sorry that I did. You need to learn to control yourself around Simon, or you will find yourself in this same position over and over but with my belt instead of my hand. Do you truly understand what I'm telling you?"

"Y-yes sir." I sniffled. I truly did not want to be back in this position; certainly not with his belt! If his hand was this hard, imagine his thick leather belts…

"I'm sorry, Luke. I'm really going to try." I promised and I meant it this time. I was not going to allow myself to get myself into any more trouble. At least not until a few weeks after I could sit down again.

"I'm glad to hear that, kid." He smiled and set me on my feet. I began to pull up my jeans and glanced at Luke.

"You don't happen to have any sweat pants that might fit me, do you?" I asked hopefully.

Luke smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. When I'm finished with Simon, I'll bring you some and then we are going to go out and buy you some clothes. Alright?"

I nodded and Luke stood up and kissed the crown of my head.

"I'll be back in a little bit -don't leave this room Jace." With that being said, Luke turned away from me and walked out of my room and down the hall to his room to deal with Simon.

I crawled onto my bed and began to rub the ever-persistent sting in my rear, feeling sorry for what the little mundane was about to endure, despite myself.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Simon's POV

I paced the length of Luke's bedroom, panicking as I heard Jace's cries coming from down the hall.

_If Luke can make Jace cry and scream like that… I don't stand a chance. _

I was restless, pacing then sitting, then pacing again. I was beyond nervous. I had never gotten a spanking before, save the smacks that Luke gave me at Dunkin Donuts.

After several, long minutes of waiting, I finally heard Luke approach and open the door to the bedroom.

"Simon. Simon, are you alright? You look terribly pale. Are you feeling ill?" Luke asked as he shut the door and rushed over to me.

I dismissed his worries quickly. "I'm not sick, Luke. I'm okay; just nervous."

Luke sat down on the bed and pulled me down to sit next to him. "Simon you look more than just nervous; you look scared. Are you scared of me, Simon?"

I hesitated a moment before shaking my head. "No, not exactly of you… More of what you're going to do to me in a moment." I mumbled, knowing he would hear me. Luke tilted my chin up to look him into his caring eyes.

"Simon, I am not going to harm you. There is no need for you to be scared, nor of me nor of the spanking I'm going to give you. It will hurt, that much is true, but it will not leave permanent damage. Simon, do you trust me?"

I didn't skip a beat. "Of course I trust you, Luke." I whispered.

"Then try to calm down, Simon. Alright? Just take some deep breaths… That's it, in and out, in and out… Your punishment will be over before you know it."

After calming down some, I felt Luke's arms go around me. I leaned into his embrace and the tightness of the hug helped to calm my nerves further.

"Luke…" I began hesitantly.

"Mmmm?"

"Do you absolutely have to spank me?" I asked him hopefully. I was quickly disheartened as Luke nodded his head.

"Yes, I'm afraid I do Simon. What you did today was deplorable. The constant barrage of insults and violence you and Jace displayed to each other was appalling; Simon I expect better from you."

I hung my head shamefully as I knew what Luke was saying was true.

"I'm sorry, Luke. I shouldn't have started insulting Jace like that. I promise to control my mouth especially around him."

"Good. I know you two don't like each other, but if something like this happens again…"

"It won't." I interrupted.

Luke nodded his head and gestured for me to stand up. I gulped and looked away as Luke reached forward and began to undo my jeans. When they were finally loose, Luke gave them a yank and they came to pool around my feet. Before I could say or do anything else, Luke gripped my wrist and pulled me over his knees. I began to struggle immediately, thinking I was going to fall off.

Luke held me firmly around the waist. "Simon, quit struggling. You are not going to fall, alright? I've got you." He reassured me and I ceased my struggling slowly.

"Good boy." Luke praised before pulling down my underwear as well. I shivered at the sudden exposure, but I had no need to worry about being cold; Luke began to warm my bottom almost immediately.

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK **

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK**

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK **

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK **

**SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK **

** "**Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Luuuuuke!" I cried as Luke ruthlessly pounded on my behind. I had a feeling I wasn't going to last much longer, and we had only just started this punishment.

"I am so completely disappointed in your actions today, Simon Lewis." Luke lectured me, a firm smack landing with each word.

"Ungh!" I grunted at the onslaught and began to kick slightly.

"Simon, **SMACK **you **SMACK** know **SMACK** better **SMACK** than** SMACK** to **SMACK** behave **SMACK** the **SMACK** way **SMACK** you **SMACK** did **SMACK** this **SMACK** morning.** SMACK** I **SMACK** expect **SMACK** so **SMACK** much** SMACK** more **SMACK** from** SMACK** you. **SMACK** Jace **SMACK** had** SMACK** not **SMACK** done **SMACK** anything** SMACK** to** SMACK** provoke** SMACK** you, **SMACK** and** SMACK** yet **SMACK** you **SMACK** go **SMACK** and **SMACK** start **SMACK** an **SMACK** argument **SMACK** with **SMACK** him. **SMACK** Then,** SMACK** you **SMACK** both **SMACK** resort **SMACK** to **SMACK** physical **SMACK** violence. **SMACK** I **SMACK** will **SMACK** not **SMACK** have** SMACK** any **SMACK** of **SMACK** that, **SMACK** Simon **SMACK** Lewis. **SMACK** Should **SMACK** this **SMACK** happen **SMACK** again, **SMACK** you **SMACK** will **SMACK** find **SMACK** my **SMACK** belt **SMACK** rather **SMACK** than **SMACK** my **SMACK** hand** SMACK** coming **SMACK** down **SMACK** on **SMACK** your **SMACK** backside. **SMACK** Do **SMACK** you **SMACK** understand **SMACK** **SMACK SMACK SMACK **me?"

I was sobbing openly by this point, my struggling motions slowing. I felt horrible and the pain in my backside just added to it.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry!" I sobbed. Luke's response to my blubbering was to tip me forward and begin working on heating and reddening my sit-spots quite thoroughly.

This just made me cry much harder until eventually that's all I did was sob. I went limp over Luke's knees and he continued spanking me very hard for several more minutes until he felt I had truly learned my lesson.

My behind was on fire and I was positive I wasn't going to be able to sit down for at least the rest of the day.

I let out another wail as Luke pulled up my underwear. I expected him to help me up, but instead he held me down for another few minutes, rubbing soothing circles on my back.

After several minutes, I was able to calm down enough to be fully aware that I still lying across Luke's lap. The embarrassment was overwhelming and I felt my cheeks blushing red.

I shifted slightly and Luke pressed down a little more firmly to hold me down. After another few minutes that I was entirely calmed down, and 100% humiliated, I felt Luke grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. I ducked my head so that he wouldn't see how red my face was when he sat me down on his lap.

"You alright there, Simon?" Luke asked, his voice layered with concern. When I felt the color of my face return to normal, I looked into Luke's face.

I gave him the best smile I could muster considering my situation. "Yes Luke, I'm alright. Sore but I think we both knew that's how I would end up." My voice sounded strange to my own ears. Strained, small, and layered with tears. I closed my eyes, ashamed at how weak I was during my punishment.

Luke returned my smile and gave me a tight squeeze. "Alright then. I didn't break you did I?" He joked and I gave him a small laugh.

"No, you didn't break me. I just hope I never have to feel that again."

"I hope I never have to be the cause if you do ever feel it again, Simon. I hated punishing you, particularly because it was your first time, but I won't hesitate to do it again if you get out of line."

"I know." I whispered. "I promise I'll behave around Jace."

"Good."

I sniffled and then stood up off of Luke's lap. I reached down to pull up my jeans but they weren't at my ankles anymore. I looked around and blushed again when I realized I had kicked them off during my spanking.

I quickly went over to pick them up and cringed as I thought about having to wear these rough jeans over my very tender behind.

Luke saw my hesitation and offered me a pair of sweatpants. I nodded eagerly at his offer.

"Yes please. I would greatly appreciate it, Luke. Thank you." I answered him gratefully.

Luke marched on over to his closet and pulled out two pairs of sweatpants and tossed me one. I slowly put them on while Luke picked up my jeans from the floor.

"You good there, Simon?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Um, Luke?" I called when he was about to turn for the door.

"Yes?"

"Could I stay here for a few days? I don't want to go home and have to explain to my mom why I can't sit straight…"

Luke nodded sympathetically. "That's alright with me, Simon. You know you're welcome here whenever you want to stay."

I mumbled a thanks and started to make my way downstairs while Luke went back to Jace's room, no doubt to lend him some pants too.

I went into the living room and looked at the couch with disdain before leaning against the back of it and turning on the TV.

_Damn… I actually have to watch TV standing up… This truly sucks. _

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jace's POV

I lay face-down on my mattress as I tried not to listen to the punishment taking place down the hall. I cringed every time Simon let out an agonizingly wail. I knew exactly how he was feeling.

When Luke finally stopped spanking him, I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding.

When Luke finally came back to my room with the sweatpants I looked at him gratefully.

"Thanks." I mumbled before slipping on the light pants.

"No problem, kid." Luke replied before tousling my hair. I made a face at him and he laughed.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you didn't like me messing with your hair. My apologies, kiddo. You ready to go?"

I internally cringed at the thought of having to sit in Luke's car again, but I decided I would take an extra-fluffy pillow for the trip. I nodded and gave him a tiny smile. Luke returned my smile and put his arm around my shoulders and led me downstairs to where Simon was standing behind the couch watching television.

I paused at the door and turned. "Hey, mundane." I called and Simon turned to me. I gave him a rueful smile. "How's your first whipping go?"

He blushed slightly. "I'm sure you can answer that question on your own, Jace. Considered you're carrying that pillow and all, you must be as sore as me, if not more. I'm sorry."

Reluctantly, I gave him my whole-hearted apologies as well. Luke smiled at us both before leading me outside. Clary was sitting on the steps and I nearly stepped on her.

"Sorry Clary." My apology was more than for just almost stepping on her. She seemed to realize that and smiled back up at me.

"It's okay, Jace."

I smiled and walked to the car. I opened the door and positioned the pillow carefully on the seat before hopping in myself.

This time I didn't hesitate to put my seatbelt on.

**A/N: **Hey guys! So, wow this is the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it. I apologize if it's a bit difficult to read the paragraphs when Luke is lecturing while spanking the boys. I will try to update this story as quickly as I can, but I want to try and get three more reviews before putting up my next chapter, so if you like my story so far, please recommend to others! :D I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. Until next time…


	4. Shopping Trip

Luke's POV

I climbed into the car and watched proudly as Jace buckled his seatbelt without a fuss this time. I internally cringed as Jace had to bring along a pillow to sit down on and I was the cause of his discomfort.

_He earned it… Him and Simon. It's not my fault that a spanking is all that apparently is keeping Jace is line. Hopefully he'll behave from now on. _

"Luke? Hello, Earth to Luke!" I heard Jace call and I turned to look at him.

"Sorry, what Jace?" I answered distractedly. He pointed at the steering wheel.

"Are you ever going to start driving or are we supposed to Portal to the store?" Jace laughed. I smiled embarrassed as I started the car and backed out of the driveway.

The trip to KMART was extremely long due to ridiculous traffic. If it was long for me, I can only imagine that it felt like an eternity for Jace; the boy could not stop squirming, even with that pillow to sit on.

I felt terrible for having to cause the boy such discomfort but he needed to understand that fighting with Simon and breaking the rules is wrong. I can only hope that he behaves while we are at the store, as I would hate to have to punish him again.

_Well, I could always give him a warning and ground him if he misbehaves again today. Wait a second… _

"Jace, didn't I ground you this morning?" I asked suddenly and noticed how Jace flinched.

"Uh… Well, yeah. Why?" He asked nervously. I nodded my head thoughtfully. I had grounded him but there was really nothing to ground him from, except maybe going out to slay demons as he does in his spare time. Maybe his cell phone.

I sighed. Jace was such a complicated teenagers. He didn't know what anything was and if he did, he usually didn't like it.

"Well, okay then. Do you know what being grounded means?"

Jace fidgeted slightly. "It's a punishment, right? I'm not allowed to do something I like for a period of time. Right?"

I nodded. "That's right. So, I know when you're bored you enjoy texting Alec and Isabelle and you like going to find a stray demon -so there'll be no more of that until I un-ground you." I informed him and watched as his mouth dropped in astonishment.

"B-but Luke! C'mon that's not fair! What if I'm required by the Clave to go hunt demons, like it's my job to do?" He argued.

"You'll only be allowed to do so if you have to, not for your spare time. And I don't want to hear any arguing with me about it, understand?" When Jace didn't answer, I took his head in my hands and forced him to look at me. "Jace, are we clear?" He gave me a stiff nod and I released his head.

The traffic jam finally cleared up and we made it to KMART at last. When I parked the car, Jace jumped out and began fast-walking in circles. I watched him for a moment, wondering what he was doing, but eventually I grew dizzy.

My head swirling, I reached forward and halted him in his tracks, noticing others in the parking lot were staring at him curiously as well. "Jace -what are you doing?"

He looked down sheepishly. "Trying to alleviate the burn a bit." He mumbled and my heart broke. I gripped his shoulder in reassurance and walked with him to the store and nearly laughed out loud as his expression.

I swear I should have taken a picture of it. As soon as we stepped foot in the shopping center, Jace's face lit up and his eyes widened. His mouth had dropped open slightly and his breath escaped as a "wow"; he had never been inside a clothing store before, I assume.

I led Jace over to the Men's section of the store and stood back and watched as he marched around picking up whatever he thought looked nice and throwing it into the shopping cart. After he had deposited about 50 articles of clothing and approached with another stack, I stopped him.

"Jace. Slow down, kid. Are you even looking at what you're throwing in the cart? Are all of these your size, do you honestly like them all? To actually wear them on a daily basis." I added before he could answer. He frowned and walked over to the cart. He began sorting through all the clothes and nodded back at me.

"Yes, I like all of this."

I sighed. "Jace; come here, buddy. Look." I took a blue t-shirt and held it up to Jace. "This doesn't fit you, Jace."

He narrowed his eyes at the shirt, as if it were somehow its fault it didn't fit him. "Oh. Okay, well I'll put it back then." He took the shirt from me and tossed it in a random pile of clothes behind him.

"Jace, you need to make sure it all fits you and that you're really going to wear the clothes you're getting. Son, please come here and do what I'm asking you to do."

Jace's head shot up in shock and he stared at me. "Son?"

I realized it was probably too soon to be calling Jace my son. He did after all discover who his real father was just days ago. "Jace, I…" I broke off as Jace did something unexpected. He dropped the clothes in his hands and enveloped me in a tight hug.

"No, Luke it's okay. I think of you more of my dad than I think Valentine as my father anyways." He mumbled into my shirt and I felt the tears stinging my eyes as I wrapped my arms around him.

After several minutes, I noticed people were looking at us curiously. Jace pulled back and we both wiped at our eyes.

"Well, um I better make sure all this stuff fits me then." He stated and walked to our shopping cart and began throwing shirts out after seeing they didn't fit him. I smiled watching him, overjoyed that he really thought of me as a father.

By the time I had unfrozen myself from my spot in the store and walked over to Jace, more than half the shirts from the cart had disappeared.

"Some didn't fit and some looked too plain to wear more than once." Was all he said at my quizzical expression. I laughed lightly and steered him away from all the shirts and sweaters. I led him in the general direction of the pants section and watched as he disappeared amongst all the clothes.

He reappeared minutes later, three pairs of jeans in one hand and two pairs of regular trousers in the other hand. He dumped them unceremoniously into the shopping cart, wrinkling everything in the process. I shook my head at him and he quickly dug the clothes out, folded them, and put them in the cart properly.

Before I could utter another word, Jace had vanished again. When he returned, my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the tight jeans he was carrying. They looked extremely tight, and while Jace was very skinny, I doubted he could fit in them, much less take them off afterwards.

"Jace, are you honestly planning on taking those?" I gestured at the super-skinny jeans he was carrying and he laughed.

"Heck no! I just have to pretend I am because that girl over there wants me to buy them. She told me, and I quote, 'I bet you're sexy ass will be defined more if you wear these.' Then she gave me her best puppy dog face and I had to say yes. Don't worry, I am not making you buy me this." He explained and shook my head to clear it.

"Damn right I am not buying this. This is too tight for even the skinniest and smallest of people to fit in!" I muttered snatching them from Jace. I tossed them into a pile behind me and turned back to Jace.

"Alright, so is there any more clothes you want to get?"

Jace looked around and shrugged. "Can I have that jacket?"

I followed his gaze until my eyes landed on the jacket he wanted. I stared at it for several minutes before looking back at Jace incredulously.

"No." I said decisively.

"Why not?"

"Look at it! Jace, you are not wearing a thing like that!"

"Please!" He whined. He stamped his foot and crossed his arms when again, I shook my head no. "That's not fair."

"Jace, you are acting like a child. Control yourself. For the last time, I am not buying you that jacket. It is completely inappropriate."

_Look at it! Of course a seventeen-year-old boy would want it, but I am certainly not letting Jace have it. What kind of a designer puts the front of a nude girl on a jacket?! Then, with a slogan saying "Wanna suck it?" Horrifying. _

I heard Jace grumbling something under his breath. Somewhere in there, I heard "Damn Luke" and "Not fair" along with "Bet he likes it though." I looked at him and saw how he immediately straightened up. I let his comments slide this time.

"I'm sorry Jace, but I simply will not allow you to wear that sort of inappropriateness."

"I understand." He mumbled and moved to stand next to me. "I think I'm done picking out stuff. How about you, aren't you going to buy anything for yourself?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't need anything right now. If you're done then let's pay and go home." I checked my watch and nearly yelled. We had been here three hours, though it had felt like 30 minutes.

Jace saw my expression, checked his watch, and nearly jumped out of skin. "Damn, I didn't realize we'd been here so long."

I shook my head in disbelief as we made our way through the crowds and to the cash registers.

While we passed by, Jace picked up a chocolate bar and held it up to me. "Is this chocolate?"

"Yes."

"Can I have it?"

I smiled a little. Jace may be seventeen but sometimes he acted like an adorable little child. "Yes, you can have it. Wait -I have to pay for it first!" I said as he was about to eat it, wrapper and all.

"Oh, right sorry."

I paid for all the merchandise and couldn't contain the small laugh that came from me as Jace's face lit up when I gave him the chocolate bar.

"Thanks... Dad." Jace said, his mouth full of chocolate. My heart swelled when he purposely called me 'Dad' and I pulled him close to me as we walked back to the car.

Despite what happened at Dunkin Doughnuts earlier that day, I still felt as if today was one of the best days of my life.

Jace and I put the bags in the pickup's bed and we climbed into the car, Jace wincing a bit when he sat down. He fluffed his pillow some more before taking his seat again and then leaned back, finally comfortable enough.

I looked over the day's events in my head as I drove back to the house before Jace's hopeful voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"So… Am I still grounded?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you are Jace. Which reminds me, I'm going to need you to give me your cell phone when we get home."

He groaned but didn't argue like I expected. It appears Jace is learning much faster than I expected him to.

"Don't fret, Jace. Even though you're grounded, we'll all go somewhere tomorrow. Okay?"

Jace smiled. "Okay Dad." He closed his eyes and I couldn't keep the smile off my face the entire trip home.


	5. Returning Home

Jace's POV

I finally called Luke "Dad". I had felt my heart surge when Luke had called me "son" back at the store and before I could stop myself, I had wrapped my arms around him and started calling him "Dad". It felt so great to call someone my father and really feel it when I say it.

I smiled internally the rest of the shopping trip. When we had gotten back to the car, I had almost forgotten about the pain in my backside from how happy I was. Almost.

I winced a bit as I sat back down and a thought came into my head. Since Luke was in such a good mood, maybe I should ask…

"So… Am I still grounded?"

Luke rolled his eyes at me. "Yes, you are Jace. Which reminds me, I'm going to need you to give me your cell phone when we get home."

I groaned but knew better than to complain or argue about it. God, what was happening to me?

"Don't fret Jace; even though you're grounded, we'll all go somewhere tomorrow. Okay?" Luke offered.

I smiled at him. "Okay Dad." I responded and leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. I could feel Luke smiling brightly by my side, and soon I fell into a slumber, unaware of anything but the vicious nightmare playing as I slept.

_I raced through the expansive, tall field, only one thought in my mind._

_ "Clary! Clary, please where are you? Clarissa!" I shouted desperately at the top of my lungs. _

_ I heard a booming laughter of evil echo through the field and I stopped running. I turned in a circle in the middle of the tall grass and looked around. _

_ "Stupid boy. You'll never get her back; you don't deserve it!" A voice boomed. I immediately recognized it. It was my father's. My real father, Valentine. _

_ "Let her go, Valentine!" I cried, putting as much authority into my voice as I possibly could. _

_ "That's 'Father' to you, young man." He admonished and I narrowed my eyes at the air. "You want her back? Fine, you can have her."_

_ I breathed a sigh of relief, only to suck it back in at the terrible screech of pain I heard before a dreadful silence filled the air. _

_ "Clary? Clary!" I called out fearfully. I saw a glimpse of red hair in the distance. _

_ Oh no, I thought as I raced at speeds faster than human at her still figure. I knelt down next to Clary's body as I felt something sticky. Blood. _

_ A knife was protruding from Clary's chest and her eyes were glassy; dead. _

_ "NO!" I bellowed in agony dropping my head between my hands._

"NO!"

The car swerved on the road and my arms shot out. Luke's face was panicked and he quickly pulled over to the side of the road.

I started to sob thinking the dream was real, and Luke began to shake me and chant my name, until I eventually came to my senses. We were in his car, halfway to his house.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and glanced miserably at Luke.

"What happened, kid? You nearly gave me a heart attack." Luke said breathless and concern layering his voice deeply.

"I- I- I… Nightmare. Clary..." I gasped out, still crying.

Luke seemed to have understood as he leaned over and wrapped his arms protectively around me. He crushed me in a hug, rubbing my back, and murmuring to me until I was finally able to calm down a bit.

"Luke…" I mumbled.

"Sh, sh it's alright you don't have to say anything… Calm down, son you're alright. Clary's fine, I promise."

I nodded and buried my face in his chest. After a few minutes, I was fully calmed down and looked up at Luke.

"You alright now?" He asked me, worried. I smiled a little and nodded. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"At home." I answered with a small voice. Luke nodded and ruffled my hair for a moment before turning back to the steering wheel. Any other time I would have complained about my hair being tussled, but this time I didn't care. It felt comforting rather than annoying this time.

The trip the rest of the way to the house seemed like an eternity. I wasn't shaking as badly anymore, but I was still in a cold sweat; at least I was safe in the knowledge that I wouldn't start sobbing again.

As soon as the car parked in the driveway of Luke's house, he jumped out his side and opened my door for me. Apparently, I was still in worse condition than I thought I was because he had to help me down from the car and everything.

Once my feet were on solid ground, Luke wrapped an arm in a protective embrace around me and with the other unlocked the house. We walked in, me leaning on him for support. Simon was still watching TV, standing of course.

"Hey guys… Woah Jace what happened to you?" Simon nearly shouted. I must have looked like a wreck.

"I uh, um, n-nothing." I muttered and Luke mouthed, "Don't worry" to Simon, who reluctantly returned his gaze to the television screen.

Luke and I climbed up the stairs and suddenly we were in my bedroom -I didn't remember ever walking down the hall.

I sat on my bed and quickly shot up again, nearly tripping over my unsteady feet.

Luke caught me before I hit the ground and this time he sat down on my bed first and pulled me onto his lap.

I curled into him and wrapped my arms around him.

"I… My nightmare… V-V-Valentine… My father… Killed Clary…" I stuttered, not believing how real that nightmare had been. I had truly believed I had lost my Clary, my… sister I thought with dismay. I had not cried for thinking I lost my sister. I cried thinking I lost my lover, my soul mate, the girl of my dreams. How wrong this world was.

"Oh, Jace… Don't worry, it's over, it was just a nightmare. Valentine would never hurt Clary, you know I would never allow that to happen. I would rather die than have Valentine harm a hair on you or your sister's heads." Luke crooned, rocking me gently.

"I know… Thank you…"

After a while of enjoying Luke's comforting words and embrace, I heard a knock on my door. I was nearly asleep but I woke when I heard the knock. I looked up at Luke and he shifted me off his lap gently, setting me on my feet. He stood up as well and opened the door to my bedroom to where Clary stood out in the hallway.

"Luke." She said clearly surprised to find Luke here. She peered into the room and saw me standing by the bed. "Did something… Did I come at a bad time? It's just Simon said he thought there was something wrong with Jace and I wanted to check up on him."

My heart did a summersault then dropped at the thought of having to explain this to her. I shook my head almost imperceptibly at Luke and he turned back to Clary.

"No, Clary, Jace is fine but he thanks you for your concern. He was just feeling a bit under the weather, but he's doing better." Luke responded to her concerns.

"Can I talk to him?" Clary asked, trying to come into the room, cringing as I stepped back further into my room. What I really wanted to do was throw myself at her and shower her with kisses and love… But I couldn't.

"Oh… Never mind then. Let me know if anything happens with Jace, Luke." She smiled sadly before turning away. Luke shut the door and turned back to me.

"Jace…" He sighed. I looked away and tried to smile at Luke. "I'm fine now, Dad."

Luke's eyes lit up when I called him 'Dad' and he took a step towards me. "Are you sure?" At my nod, he tried a different question. "Is there anything you need?"

I shook my head and suddenly remembered we had my clothes in the car. As long as it didn't rain, it should be fine. I can always get them later.

He sighed, resigned. "You want something to eat, you wanna rest, what do you want to do?" I contemplated this question for a moment. I had no appetite but I didn't want to be left alone to 'rest' either. I shrugged and rubbed my eyes for a moment. I didn't know what I wanted.

Luke stepped up right next to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "I think you should rest, Jace."

"I said I didn't want to." I snapped then felt terrible for my attitude, when Luke was just trying to help.

"Jonathan Christopher, watch your tone. I am only trying to see what is better for you at the moment." He chided. I stiffened.

"Do not call me by that name, please." I said tersely.

"Right… Sorry, kid I forget you don't like being called that."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I just don't feel like doing anything." I slumped into my bed slowly and cringed as my bottom touched the mattress.

Luke sat down next to me and pulled me to him. "Why don't you want to rest? It will do you good."

It took everything in me to say what I said next. "Because I'm scared. I'm scared I'll have another one of those horrid nightmares." I whispered. This was the first time I had ever admitted to anybody about being scared of something.

"You won't… Do you want me to stay with you?" Luke offered.

I smiled a bit embarrassed. "Well… I guess." I murmured and Luke smiled down at me.

"Alright." He moved aside and I laid down on my side. Luke sat back down on my bed and stroked my hair softly, as I began to drift off to sleep again, praying it would not be a dream of death but rather something happy… Chocolate perhaps.

000

When I woke up again, it was dark outside. And inside too.

_Luke must have turned off my light, _I thought. _Wait.. Where is Luke? _

"Luke?" I croaked.  
"I'm right here, bud." He answered from behind me. He was still seated on the bed, where he was before, but I was not facing him. I must have turned over when I was sleeping.

"I thought you left."

"I wouldn't do that, Jace. I said I'd stay, so I stayed." I felt him smiling at me and I lied back down while he patted my head softly.

I laughed quietly.

"What's so funny?" Luke asked me, thinking he was missing some joke.

"You're petting me as if I was a but a puppy." I laughed. "Wouldn't our pet be Simon, our little mundane?"

Luke swatted my backside, but it had no effect on me since he was laughing while he did it. "Oh Jace, what to do with you…"

"Well, you could answer my question."

He laughed softly again. "No, Simon is not out pet mundane, Jace."

"Pity."

He rubbed my arm for a moment. "Would you like dinner, Jace?"

I thought for a moment, mentally asking my stomach if it would like something. After a moment, I said "Yes, please."

Please. I grimaced at the word. It was not something I was used to saying, so when I did it felt strange in my mouth, like a foreign taste.

"Alright, let's go downstairs then." Luke stood and turned my light on and I shielded my eyes from the bright attack.

I slowly stood up from the bed and tried to straighten out my crumpled clothes. I rubbed my tired eyes and walked to my door, nearly crashing into it.

"Fuck." I muttered and remembered Luke didn't tolerate cursing. I quickly turned to the other side, so that my backside was facing away from Luke. As if that could stop him if he had really wanted to spank me.

He shot me a warning look and proceeded to open the door. I walked with my back to the hall and then bounded down the stairs into the kitchen.

_Shit, I forgot to bring a pillow! _I thought angrily. _I'll just stand or something._

I went to the table and leaned on it. When Luke walked in with Simon and Clary behind him, I asked, "What's for dinner?" Then I remembered I actually had manners and said hi to Clary and her friend.

"Chicken. All we have to do is microwave it." Luke answered brightly. I rolled my eyes and noticed Clary was shaking her head while Simon laughed. Luke shrugged and grabbed the plates of chicken from the fridge and heated them up, one by one. When the first one was ready he handed it to me. I looked at Clary and set the plate down in her usual seat.

"Ladies first."

Her eyes shined a bit but I couldn't tell from what emotion. She smiled as she sat down and waited for the rest of us to sit to eat with her.

When I finally got my plate of food -I had given up the other one to Simon -I contemplated whether to sit or not. Simon was sitting down but squirming terribly.

"Jace?" Luke called my name and I noticed he was waiting for me to sit down. I made a face at the chair before sitting in it gingerly and then trying to keep my squirming to a minimum, I began to pick at my chicken.

There was no conversation as we ate, until nearly the end.

"So, are you okay now Jace?" Clary's small voice asked. I tensed a moment then willed my body to relax.

"Yeah, I'm okay now Clary. Thanks."

"Good. I'm glad." She smiled and resumed eating. I noted how Simon looked at me from under his lashes. I stared right back at him and he looked away first.

"Like it's my fault she loves me and not him…" I scoffed in a whisper, but the boy managed to catch it.

"You take it back. That's not even fair."

"But it's true."

"I don't care if it's true! It shouldn't be and it is your fault!"

I saw the looks of confusion on Clary's face but Luke had heard what I said; he had werewolf hearing after all.

"Hey, hey stop it. Simon, it's not his fault, he can't help that. Calm down, Simon. Don't worry, alright?"

Simon looked at Luke sadly but didn't say anything in response. I kicked his leg gently to get his attention. He opened his mouth, to tattle no doubt, and I mouthed, "Get over it. I'm sorry." That seemed to shut him up though he knew I wasn't sorry for loving Clary. Just sorry that he loved Clary too.

Clary watched our exchange and I smiled at her long enough to be considered creepy before she turned back to her food with a shrug.

When we finished eating dinner, I put my plate in the sink and was about to go back to my room when Luke's voice stopped me.

"Hold on a second there, kid."

I looked back at him and he pointed at the dishes in the sink. "You're grounded, remember? That means you get to do the dishes."

I groaned and made my way back to the sink.


	6. Clary's Great Idea

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

Jace's POV

It's been three weeks since I've been staying at Luke's house and I have actually managed to keep myself out of trouble. I actually value my ability to sit therefore I've been trying my hardest to keep myself in line. It's obviously been working since I can sit comfortably once and for all.

I lay in my bed gazing up at the ceiling as I wait for Luke to call us down for breakfast. Clary's little mundane has been staying here ever since I moved in, probably just to irritate me. Well, it was working.

I wasn't even trying to be nice to him anymore despite all of Luke's warnings. The only reason I even tolerated him was because of Clary.

Clary.

Oh Clary. My little sister who happens to also be the girl that I fall madly in love with. Why did life have to be so torturous? I couldn't even have a little happiness could I?

I would have made our relationship continue despite us being siblings, but my dear sister was uncomfortable with it. She says she loves me, but it's wrong so she's going to pretend she doesn't. Well, that doesn't mean that I have to do it too, does it?

"Jace! Simon, Clary come down for breakfast!" Luke's voice finally rang out. I remained in my bed for a minute or so then bounced up, not wanting Luke to have to come and get me.

I made my way down to the kitchen where everyone else was already seated, waiting. The three of them turned to stare at me as I descended the stairs. Only then did I notice I was the only one not dressed.

I looked down at myself self-consciously and took in my appearance -pajama bottoms, a t-shirt, and un-brushed hair, while everyone was already dressed and looking nice. Well, I thought I looked good anyways, just a bit underdressed.

"Uh… Hi." I said awkwardly before approaching the table.

Simon rolled his eyes at me and I gave him the finger; unfortunately for me, Luke saw my little gesture and planted a smack on my behind right there in front of Clary and Simon.

"Ow!" I yelped, feeling my cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Want to try that again, Jace?" Luke asked warningly. I shook my head, rubbing at the mild sting in my rear. I took my usual seat at the table and was rewarded with a plate full of bacon, eggs, toast and a glass of milk.

I grinned hungrily at my food before wolfing it down and noticed that Clary did the same. I grinned at her over my glass of milk and she blushed slightly, realizing she was being un-ladylike. Like it really mattered. She was never girly anyways, so why would she care now?  
"Well, I see you two are hungry." Luke stated, snickering. Simon watched as we ate before pushing his plate away and standing up.

"Where are you going, mundie?" I asked not looking up.

"What do you care?" He shot back and I finally looked up at him. I was about to answer something not very nice, until Clary kicked me from under the table and I shut my mouth. I didn't want her to be angry with me, so if she didn't want me to say anything, I wasn't going to.

Luke stood up and put a gentle hand on Simon's arm. "Simon, are you feeling alright?"

Simon nodded his head and sat back down next to me. I deliberately made a face at him, turning to the side so that Clary couldn't see me. I began to really worry when the doofus didn't return my glare.

"Dude, you sure you okay?" I asked him under my breath. He peered at me from under his eyelashes and nodded.

When I raised an eyebrow at him in question, he mouthed at me to "piss off". Yep, he's alright.

"Bitch." I whispered. "If you're fine then act like it. You just want attention from my sister, don't you? Well, you can't have her. She's mine, either way." I stated bluntly before standing and putting my dish in the sink.

Simon's eyes widened at that but he straightened up, not enjoying my accusation at all. He smiled at Clary who returned his smile promptly.

"Luke, can we go to the park today?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure thing, Clary. You boys wanna go to the park later?" Luke answered cheerfully. Clearly he thought things were going to go well.

I shrugged and Simon nodded eagerly. I almost laughed at how excited he and Clary seemed.

Clary must have noticed my indifference and she came over to me and wrapped me in a hug. I stood stiffly, shocked for a moment but then I melted into her embrace. This didn't happen often since we were still pretty awkward around each other since we found out that we were siblings.

She stood up on her tip toes and gave me a peck on the cheek before whispering in my ear, "Come on Jace, it'll be fun! I'll even let you teach me how to do a back flip?"

I smiled and conceded happily to her persuasion.

"Yay!" she squealed before putting her plate in the sink and giving everyone a hug. I looked back wistfully at her as she bounded up the stairs, to get her bag probably.

"Jace." Luke called and gestured that I should come over to him. I went over warily, afraid he might be about to reprimand me for being rude to Simon. Again.

He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. He leaned in to whisper in my ear. A warning.

"Jace, I know you have been behaving very well for the past three weeks and I thank you for that and I am very proud of you because of that. I also want you to know that you are not even trying to be friends with Simon. It is your choice to be his friend or not but I have asked you countless times to act civil to him. Today at the park you better behave yourself accordingly or I will not hesitate to punish you on the spot! Are we clear?"

I glared at Luke from under my eyelashes and he gripped my shoulder in warning. Oh, right. Making faces was disrespectful. Oh well.

"Are we clear, Jace?" He asked me again, moving a hand down to my behind.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir." I hissed through clenched teeth. Luke pulled me in for a hug and I returned it despite being a bit put out with him. He was always warning and scolding me. Well, with good reason to but it still wasn't fair.

"Simon. You're going to have to behave while we're at the park you got it? You and Jace play nice or you'll be punished where you stand. Understood?"

I blushed slightly and buried my face in Luke's shoulder so they wouldn't see it. I assumed Simon was blushing as well as he responded, "Yes sir."

Well, at least he was warning Simon too. That made me feel like less of a troublesome teenager.

Clary bounded down the steps. "Jace! Get dressed!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yes Mom."

"Ha-ha." She tried to smack my head but she didn't quite reach that high yet. I laughed as she struggled to reach me and she pouted.

"No fair; you're too tall."

"Clary, I've always been nine inches taller than you."

"That doesn't mean I've ever liked it."

"Oh please you love it."

"How exactly do I love you being so much taller than me?" She asked with a tiny smile.

"Because that means that you look up to me." I winked at her and she laughed at my word-play while I went upstairs to change.

000

Clary's POV

Jace is so adorable even when he's being arrogant. Wait, what? Did I really just think that? Well, I can't help it. I may be his sister but that doesn't change the way that I feel about him. I told him we couldn't be anything except for siblings and he agreed, for now. I didn't want to do that but incest? Really? That was a little too extreme for me.

I watched him as he went upstairs to change clothes so that we could all go to the park.

I walked into the living room and set my bag down with my cell phone. Simon was looking a bit pale, paler than usual, and I walked over to him.

"Simon, are you feeling alright?" I asked him concerned, and touched his shoulder lightly. I looked over into the kitchen and noticed he hadn't touched his food. "Are you sick?"

He flinched when I touched him but smiled at me reassuringly. "Yeah, Clary I'm fine. Don't worry."

"You didn't eat and you look terribly pale. Are you sure you're not ill?"

"I'm sure that I am not ill. And I didn't eat because I wasn't hungry." He answered nonchalantly. I remembered something suddenly.

"How can you not be hungry? You didn't even eat dinner or lunch for that matter yesterday!"

Simon hesitated, obviously trying to come up with an excuse which he didn't have. Luke walked in and noticed the tension.

"Is everything alright in here? Oh, Simon why didn't you eat your food? It's all there." He pointed into the kitchen and realized that's what Simon and I had been talking about. "Well?"

"I'm just not hungry."

I let go of Simon and I felt myself getting angry. Tears of anger nearly sprang from my eyes but I held them back. What I didn't hold was my tongue.

"That's bullshit! How can you not be hungry for two Goddamn days, straight?!"

"Clarissa! Watch your language!" Luke scolded me sternly.

"Sorry." I apologized half-heartedly. I couldn't care less about what Luke was saying right now; I was worrying about Simon.

"Simon Lewis. What is going on?" I asked him demandingly one last time.

He sighed frustrated. "Nothing Clary! And I've been eating, late at night. I've been eating snacks after midnight. I'm not starving myself, don't worry." He reassured me. Well, at least I knew he wasn't trying to kill himself by starvation.

"Simon, you know there's no food allowed in the rooms. I'll let it go since you haven't been eating since you're supposed after-midnight-snacks, but starting today you are going back to eating regularly. You will not go hungry just to fill yourself with junk late at night. You understand me?"

Simon made a face. "Fine." He walked off and went outside, nearly slamming the door behind him. At that moment, Jace came walking down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt I had given him for his birthday before.

"Woah. What's going on with the geek?" He asked teasingly.

"Jace!" Luke chastised. "Do NOT call Simon names!"

Jace held up his hands in mock-innocence and surrender. "Woah there, take it easy Luke; I was just kidding."

Luke took a step towards Jace and Jace practically ran back up the stairs from how intimidating Luke seemed at that very moment.

"Luke." I called to get the attention of off poor Jace. "Can we go to the park now? Please?"

Luke turned towards me and took some deep breaths. He was worried about Simon, I could tell and the fact that Jace didn't seem to care to act contritely irritated him. Quite frankly it saddened me more than anything, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

"Sure, Clary. C'mon guys let's go." He said, visibly more calm now. He beckoned Jace over and Jace came and stood next to me.

"Shall we?" He asked and opened the door and held it for me. "Ladies first, hot guys second, werewolves last." He teased and Luke and I smiled and shook our heads as we all walked out the door.

"My bag!" I exclaimed before running inside and grabbing it off the couch. I had to literally slip in through the door while it was closing or else Luke would have had to dig out his keys, which I am sure he didn't have on him and neither did Jace or Simon.

"Alright, got it. Let's go!" I bounded down the porch steps and Jace snickered.

"Damn Clary; you are way too skinny! I don't think even I could fit through that narrow space that you went through."

"Of course you could Jace. You're just as skinny and a heck of a lot more agile." I answered. I may be a Shadowhunter like him, but I haven't had any training; Jace has had five years of it and he was the best Shadowhunter ever. That's not just my love talking -everybody knows that he's the best of the best.

"Alright kids, hop in!"

We all piled into Luke's truck and we started on our way to the park.

_Please God, don't let Jace and Simon cause too much trouble today, huh? I know it's hard to ask for that, but please? Just keep them to minimal trouble, if you can._

I sighed, knowing my silent prayer wouldn't work and I leaned back in my seat as Luke drove on and Simon and Jace began their hourly argument in the backseat.

**A/N: Hey guys! It's been awhile since I have updated this story. Sorry about that. Here's Chapter 6, I hope you enjoy it and are not too put out with me for making you wait :) I know it seems like basically every chapter, Jace is getting into some sort of trouble; that's sort of the point. It's Jace's life at Luke's place but it's mostly the times when he will get in trouble, but as you can see he's not always going to be in trouble. Please review and tell me what you thought of this next chapter. What do you think will happen at the park? Did I mention review? Review! :D Until next time...**


	7. What Happened to Simon

Jace's POV

I leaned back in my seat in Luke's pickup truck as he drove the three of us to the park. Simon and I had been jabbing at each other, as always, but Luke quickly put an end to it. In reality, they were just harmless arguments; I wasn't saying anything I actually meant this time, but it was insults just the same. I almost didn't listen to Luke and was about to continue to bait Simon until he started his threats. That shut me up pretty quickly.

After Luke had told us to shut it and separate, I had slid as far away from the mundane as I possibly could. Now, I turned my head to look at him and couldn't help the concern that washed over me.

Simon looked extremely pale and there was sweat dripping down his forehead. It wasn't hot out so it was probably a cold sweat, and that's definitely not normal.

"Psst. Mundane." I hissed and nudged him with my foot. Simon turned his head to look at me but then he turned away again without a word. "Dude!" I whispered and kicked him with only a little force. I knew he barely even felt it but he cried out anyways.

"Ow! Luke, tell Jace to stop kicking me!" He screeched suddenly causing Clary to flinch in the front seat.

Luke peered at me through the rearview mirror. "Jace! Quit kicking Simon and behave yourself." He turned back to the road and continued to drive as I huffed angrily in my seat. Guess that's what I get for actually being worried about the stupid human.

"Luke, let's just go home. It seems like nobody is in a good mood for the park, so just turn the car around. It's fine." said Clary, sounding dejected which was unlike her. It looks like all the drama between Simon and I was really starting to get to her. I decided I would try my hardest to not dampen her spirits anymore.

"No! Luke keep driving, I'm sorry I'll behave. We're gonna have loads of fun at the park, Clary don't worry." I practically begged and assured my… sister.

Luke smiled and continued driving. Clary turned back to look at me and smiled at me with emotions playing in her eyes. Gratitude, surprise, and love. God, I loved her so much and I only wanted her to be happy.

I turned to see the geek staring at me and I mouthed "What?" at him.

"Sorry." I heard him mutter before turning back to his window.

I was confused but simply nodded my head before turning back to my own window. I watched the trees and houses zooming by as we continued on to our destination.

000

Shortly after, Simon and I began having another argument. I wanted the AC on, he wanted it off. I threw a shoe at him, he tried to bite me, I shoved him against the car door.

"Jace and Simon! Quit this insolent behavior right now or I will pull this car over and wallop you both right here on the side of the road.

My eyes widened in embarrassment. I was the world's best Shadowhunter for goodness sakes and I was getting threatened to get whipped. When did my world suddenly turn so inside out upside down?

Luke pulled the car into a parking slot as we arrived at the commons. As soon as Luke parked his pickup truck, Clary jumped out squealing in joy.

I gave a little laugh and exited from my side of the truck. As I was going to walk over to the table that Simon and Clary were headed to, I was intercepted by Luke.

_Uh oh… _

I stopped and waited for the scolding to start. I only hoped Luke wouldn't decide to pop me one while we were in plain view of everyone in the parking lot. And everyone in the park for that matter.

I was surprised when all Luke did was shake his head, sigh, and put his arm around my shoulders as we walked to the table together. I was relieved that he wasn't angry with me for my foolish behavior when we were in the car. I hated when Luke was angry or disappointed in me.

_Damn, when did that happen? I love this werewolf more than Robert or Valentine… _

I sat down on the bench next to Simon and Clary and we all just stared at each other. Not literally though.

"Well?" Luke asked. The three of us looked at each other in puzzlement before turning back to Luke. "We're here at the park and you three are just sitting there! Clary, this was your idea; go do something!"

The three of us broke into a fit of laughter causing Luke to roll his eyes at us. He hauled us up off the bench and gently shoved us away from it.

"Go. Do. Something!" He said again, punctuating his words with a light smack to each of our rears. Clary squealed and began running into one of the fields. She looked like a child; but half of that was because she was so small.

Simon and I walked side by side towards where Clary was. He was still looking unusually pale and being uncharacteristically quiet. I bumped him with my shoulder and spoke quickly before he could turn away from me again.

"Simon, are you alright man?" I asked him seriously, putting all disagreements aside.

He gazed at me unsteadily. "Yeah. I'm fine, thanks." He answered. I didn't quite believe him but I didn't push the matter any farther. There was definitely something wrong with this kid but I just haven't figured it out yet.

As we approached Clarissa, she smiled brightly up at us. "Okay, Jace. Teach me how to do a back flip."

I smiled and asked Simon if he wanted to learn too, though I secretly wished he would say no, which he did. As Clary and I moved more towards the middle of the field, Simon sat on the ground and alternated between watching us and plucking the grass from the ground.

"Okay, first things first: put your feet apart a little bit. Yes, just like that. Okay, bend your knees slightly, and crouch the tiniest bit. Like this." I demonstrated the first part of what she would need to do in order to successfully complete her back flip. She copied my moves and I smiled appraisingly at her. "Good job. Now, you're going to need to clear your mind and will all the tension out of your body. Relax all your muscles… When you're going to do the flip, you spring up as high as you can and let yourself feel lightweight. Pretend you are a feather in the wind, you weigh nothing at all, and push back with your body. Go ahead and try it. I'll catch you if it doesn't work…"

000

Simon's POV

I sat down on the grass and switched back and forth between watching Jace show Clary how to do her flip and baring the ground from its beautiful, green grass.

I looked up as I heard the last part of Jace's instructions to Clary so I could see her do her flip. I had confidence in her that she would do it right on her first try and I trusted that Jace would catch her if she didn't.

I trusted Jace with Clary. When did this happen?

I watched mesmerized as Jace performed his back flip first, landing flawlessly back on his feet and then encouraging Clary to try it.

"No, I'm too scared! What if I hit my head?" I heard her ask him. My poor Clary. I felt like going over there and beating the crap out of Jace, just in case he was pressuring her too much, but I restrained myself. Partly because I knew he'd kick my ass before I could even get anywhere near him.

I saw Clary finally give in to his persuasion and watched on edge as she tried to do the flip. I watched apprehensively and jumped up in joy when she nailed it on her first try.

"Yeah! WOO Clary!" I hollered and saw both of them turn to smile and me, Clary blushing slightly.

I sat back down feeling a whole lot better than I had before.

Suddenly though, my throat constricted and started feeling like it was burning. My mouth went dry and I had a sudden urge to drink something. But I didn't want water or soda. I wanted blood.

I froze in horror of what I just had the urge to drink and I refused to let myself move from my spot. What was happening to me?

My sensation burning my throat with thirst got stronger as I tried to remember how I could possibly be feeling this way.

Then, I suddenly remembered something. Back when I had been turned into a rat at Magnus Bane's party, I had been kidnapped by vampires and taken to Hotel Dumort. Jace and Clary had come to rescue me, almost getting themselves killed in the process.

In order to save Clary in one of those moments, I bit one of the vampires. I tasted their blood. They had tasted mine as well.

For several nights after that, I've realized that I've been sleepwalking, and every time I woke up I was in front of that hotel. And every night I was missing some of my blood but not missing blood in general.

Was I letting vamps feed off me and then feeding off them myself?

From what I've heard from Alec, Isabelle, and Jace that's part of the way. The other part to become a vampire...

Had already happened.

I had woken up underground. I drank a bag of blood that Raphael had supplied me. I had ran away for a whole day, sneaking back into Luke's house the night after that.

I had thought it was just all a dream.

000

Jace's POV

I cheered along with Simon after Clary perfected her back flip and we continued on flipping until she toppled over and we both landed on the ground. She was half-draped over me and we were both laughing. This was how it should always be.

As I let myself get lost in the enjoyment I was having with Clary, I barely noticed the sun shining a little stronger. The heat wasn't too bad but you could almost even see the rays of the sun.

I heard Simon cry out and Clary and I both turned at super speed to see what was wrong with him.

There was nothing there with him but still he yelled in pain for a moment before running towards the shade.

Clary hissed a bit as the sun burned even stronger so I didn't think much of Simon's behavior. But a wind blew by and I got a whiff of the scent in the air.

At lightning speed, I shot off the ground and ran over to where Simon was at. We were almost to a shaded area when I tackled him. We both rolled around on the ground before I pinned him down.

I could hear Clary yelling at us before she ran to get Luke to separate us. Simon looked up at me with wide, scared eyes. I snarled into his face.

"Vampire."


	8. The Explanations

Clary's POV

The sun suddenly shone brighter and the heat increased tremendously. Simon cried out in pain and I hissed. The sun's rays really did sting now.

I was about to ask Jace if he wanted to move to a shaded area when he jumped and lunged at Simon.

"Jace!" I screeched but he ran at top speed, never slowing down, after Simon. I knew he was going to attack Simon but I didn't know why -they had been getting along so well. I ran to get Luke; if Jace and Simon were going to get into a fight, the only one who'd be able to separate them would be him.

I whipped my head around and saw Jace and Simon tumbling to the ground as Jace pinned my best friend down. He snarled something into his face but I didn't hear what it was. I broke into a faster run as I caught Simon's fearful look.

"Luke! Luke!" I called as I approached nearer. Luke whirled around at the panic in my voice and concern immediately crossed his face.

"Clary, what's wrong? Where are the boys?"

I needed to catch my breath so I simply pointed in the direction they were in. Luke moved his gaze in the direction I was pointing and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Jace and Simon were already starting to fight.

He broke into a run and I turned to look why; Jace was shoving Simon into the direct sunlight and was about to stab him with a seraph blade.

"No!" I yelled at the top of my lungs and raced over there, running faster than I ever imagined I could.

Just as I reached my brother (Oh God) and my best friend, Luke grabbed Jace's wrist -the hand that held the sword -and hauled him off of Simon. I watched in sheer terror, frozen to the spot as Simon crawled back into a shaded area and Jace fought to get free of Luke's grasp.

"Jace! Jonathan Christopher!" Luke bellowed and more people gathered around us. "Jace, stop it this instant! Do you realize who you were about to stab?!"

Jace took a good, long at Simon before realization dawned on his features. His face contorted into one of surprise and he dropped his seraph blade onto the grass. Luke looked at the pedestrians surrounding us and I finally noticed that probably half the park was staring at the scene Jace and Simon had just created. I wondered if any of them had noticed the sword, or if somehow it was automatically glamoured to the mundane eye.

"There's nothing to see here, ladies and gentleman, children. Please proceed to continue whatever activity you were previously engaged in." Luke spoke politely but sent everybody present a withering glare that had them all slowly moving to get back to whatever they had been up to before this commotion.

When the group of watchers finally evaporated, Luke hauled Jace up on his feet once more and sent him a look that could kill. Jace barely managed to contain a flinch and I winced. I rushed over to Simon to check if he was alright, and found that he looked like if he were in pain.

"Simon! Simon, are you okay? What happened?" I asked him worriedly. I needed to make sure that he was okay -and after I did that, I was going to kill Jace myself. Maybe not kill, but seriously injure.

"What the hell was that all about? Why would you try to kill Simon?!" Luke struggled to keep his voice to a harsh whisper as I noticed his grip tightening on Jace's wrist. When Jace didn't answer, Luke raised his other hand as if to strike him, but then thought better of it. I guess he knew he was too angry to do anything without hurting Jace.

I turned my attention back to Simon, who still wasn't trying to brush me off and reassure me he was fine, like he always did.

"Simon Lewis. Tell me that you're okay! And if you're not, at least tell me what's wrong so that I can try to help you!" I hissed at Simon as he lay on his side on the grass. I rolled him over so that he faced me; I gasped at the sight of him -half of his face was scorched, slowly, but visibly healing. I couldn't contain my tears. "Simon, how did that happen?" I sobbed, half-covering my face with one hand while the other gently stroked Simon's hair. I noticed that he was still writhing as if in pain. He looked away and I called Luke over.

Luke stared at Jace for a moment before making his way over, not once loosening his grip on Jace.

"What's going -?" Luke began to ask but stopped short seeing Simon's face. The damage was mostly gone; how is that even possible?  
"Simon… Dude, I'm sorry. I… It was instinct." Jace stammered but stopped abruptly. He narrowed his eyes at my buddy, who was lying pale and scared on the grass. "You better control yourself and not hurt her or next time, I'll be fully aware that it's you the one I'm killing."

"Jace!" Luke yelled loudly and Jace cringed. My heart constricted at how frightened they all looked, but I kept on pushing. "Jace, why were you going to kill him? Why would you do that, huh! WHY?!"

Jace refused to answer me and my blood boiled. I was getting real tired of everyone keeping secrets from me. I was going to find out what was going on, whether or not Jace wanted to tell me.

"Jace. Answer me." I hissed. Jace fidgeted and looked at Simon, obviously trying to pass the buck. Luke shook Jace a bit to capture his attention.

"If you don't start talking in the next three seconds, I am going to take my belt to your bare backside, and right here in the park too." Jace's mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged at the threat Luke just made, but he didn't speak yet. Luke began counting.

"1… 2…" Luke began unbuckling his belt with his free hand and I wondered if Jace was really going to be THAT stubborn. Just as Luke was about to say 3, however, Jace began talking.

"Okay, well… Like I said, it was instinct -and if Simon isn't careful, I'll make sure to kill him and nobody would be able to stop me, though I honestly don't wanna have to do that." Luke resumed removing his belt and proceeded to bend Jace over his arm, when Jace began to offer more to his explanation.

"He's a vampire! The mundane's a freaking vampire!" He hissed and Luke nearly dropped him. The space ultimately surrounding us seemed to fall silent as I absorbed this information. My best friend, my human, my mundane, was now a vampire.

"How?" Was the only word that came to break the eerie silence. Simon was fully healed and he scooted closer to me.

"Remember when I got turned into a rat? When we fought those vamps at Hotel Dumort all that while back? Yeah, I bit one of them. I hadn't realized it, but ever since then, I'd been going back to the hotel. Raphael and his clan would drink from me, and I'd drink from them. I don't exactly know how anything worked -it's all kind of fuzzy. I was just drawn to the place and to the blood of Raphael's clan. 'Course, Raphael never gave me his blood, but the rest of them sure didn't mind, and I accepted their… generosity. Most of my blood was becoming replaced with theirs.

"Then one night, not too long ago, I really needed the blood. It was that night that I hadn't come back to Luke's place." I gasped at this revelation.

"I thought you had gone back to your mom's house…" I whispered and noticed that Luke and Jace were seated around us as well, listening. Simon shook his head. I sucked on my bottom lip, ineffectively trying to fight back more tears. I prompted him to continue.

"Well, apparently that night, the vamps were seriously craving some blood too. As soon as I stepped foot at the hotel, they tore me up. That was the last thing I remember for a while. Then, I remember waking up in a hole underground. I clawed my was free and as soon as I got aboveground, I realized I was thirsty. Raphael threw a bag of blood in my face and I downed it before I even realized what I was doing. He gave me a bag full of bottles of blood. I kept them in my fridge at Luke's house, thinking they were kool-aid and that the whole night was just a dream. I guess it wasn't."

At the end of Simon's explanation, I threw my arms around him. He returned my embrace and we stayed like that for a very long while.

When I finally wiped away my tears and rose my face from Simon's shoulder, I saw Luke standing by the table, scolding a teary-eyed Jace. I turned my attention away from them for the moment and looked back at Simon.

"We'll help you. We'll get you anything you might need and we'll protect you from the Clave. Jace won't hurt you, you know it was just his instincts kicking in this time. I promise we'll keep you safe, Simon. My little vampire." A chuckled a bit and he looked like he was going to cry. Again, we fell into a deep embrace and I all but forgot he wasn't just Simon -now he was Simon: a vampire.

000

Jace's POV

After Simon finished his recount on how he became a Downworlder, Luke pulled me aside. Simon and Clary were hugging and the sight of them tugged at my heartstrings, but I let Luke drag me back to the table without much protest. The only complaint I gave was that my blade was still lying in the grass, but Luke ignored me.

When we were, what Luke considered, out of earshot of Clary and the mun -uh, vampire, he began scolding me.

"Jace, that display was beyond scarring and traumatizing, and quite frankly, disappointing. I'd think you'd know better than to fight Simon again, not to mention physically attack him with your seraph blade. You could have killed him! But you know that already, since it was your plan after all."

I bit back hot tears at Luke's words. I swallowed the whimpers from my throat and spoke as clearly as I could. "No, it wasn't. I wasn't thinking -it was my nature kicking in! When I realized there was a vampire nearby, I wanted to get rid of it, to make Clary safe. I didn't realize that vampire just happened to be the mundane. You've gotta believe me, Luke. Come on, please." I was practically begging him to believe me, but I didn't care -it really hadn't been my intentions on killing Simon; it was more like killing the dangerous vampire. I would never kill Simon, lest he cause Clary any harm, which I know he wouldn't do, not even by accident.

Luke sighed. His stance softened and rubbed his eyes. "I believe you, Jace. I believe you."

My shoulders slumped in relief and I let out a broken whimper. I was just so content to know that Luke believed me -for some reason, I couldn't bear the thought of him thinking me a murderer of my sister's best friend.

"Jace. You can't let this happen again. I understand what happened a few minutes ago, but now you are fully aware that the vampire that will be living amongst us is Simon. You must be more careful with him, now more than ever."

I snorted. "Why? I already said I wouldn't kill him since I knew it's him."

Luke moved closer to me. "He's going to feel out of place, more so than before. We need -"

"How is he going to feel MORE out of place than when he was a mundane? Now, he's a Downworlder hanging with another Downworlder and two Shadowhunters; Clary's still his best friend, and they're probably even closer now! You're not kicking him out, so what is there -OW!"

My questioning was cut off abruptly as Luke tugged my ear, hard. I tried to claw his hand away, but my efforts were futile.

"Ow, let me go! Luke, let go of my ear! Owwwwwww."

Finally, Luke released my ear and I tried to rub the pain away from it. I felt so abused. "Why did you do that?"

"To get your attention. Are you ready to listen?" At my nod, Luke continued. "Good. Now, as I was saying, Simon is going to feel very much out of place. Yes, he is a Downworlder, just as I am and now he is not completely oblivious to the Shadowhunting world -but now he is no mundane. All of his friends are mundanes, his family are mundanes. What's going to happen when he goes to his house and his mom notices that there's something off? How does he explain that he's a vampire?

"And there's the matter of his religion too; he's going to feel terrible when he discovers he can't even say God anymore! I think that will affect him, seeing as he can barely speak of what he believes in anymore. We need to show him all the support we can muster, and that includes you, Jace. You need to set your differences aside, now more than ever. Are you getting me?"

I huffed. "I don't get why I can't continue treating him the way I have been. It's not like he's been diagnosed with something -he's just a vampire! Besides, it's not like it'll be any _easier _for me to pound him -he might be strong enough to fight back now. Plus, he'll be able to hear my comments about him from a longer distance. It'll just make everything more fun now that he's a vamp."

Luke stared at me incredulously for a moment before asking, "Do you want me to smack you?"

I quickly shook my head no. Luke spoke again.

"Jace, you guys can have your fun afterwards. When Simon is adjusted to his new lifestyle, you can go back to being "normal". Don't treat him any different than you would have, with the exception of being… let's say nicer, for lack of a better word. Don't pick on him very much. You got it?"

When I didn't answer, Luke asked me again. "Jace, did you understand me? We need to help Simon now, not harass him."

"I don't harass him." I retorted indignantly. Luke huffed.

"That's not the point, Jace. Will you try your best to make Simon feel better and assist him through this moment in his life. This isn't something he'll get over -he's a vampire forever and we need to help him embrace it, but we can't push it. Lay off and help or I promise, sitting will just be a fond memory of yours."

"Why does everything you say have to end with the threat of a spanking?" I asked, avoiding Luke's question.

"Because, Jace, I know you. You need me to make this abundantly clear or else you'll just throw it in my face that I never said, never specified, never warned you. So, I'm warning you."

I rolled my eyes.

A quick smack landed on my tail and I yelped. I looked back up at Luke and he waved a finger in my face.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Jace. And answer my question. Are you going to behave yourself and lend a hand with Simon's situation?"

"Yes, Dad." I answered, somewhat sarcastically. Luke caught on to it and landed another smack on my ass.

"Ow! Stop that." I demanded, rubbing out the sting. Luke raised an eyebrow and planted three more smacks on my behind in quick succession.

"Dude!" I exclaimed, my eyes filling with tears.

"Watch yourself, young man. Don't you dare forget who you're talking to. Helping Simon deal with what's going on, doesn't mean you have the right to forget your place. I don't tolerate disrespect and I will not be lenient."

"Sorry." I mumbled, shifting from one foot to the other. I wondered if anyone saw Luke swatting me. I sure hope not.

Simon and Clary began making their way over to us and I remembered something. Luke told us if we fought, he'd take a belt to our backsides, whether we had an audience or not. Did his threat apply to what had just transpired? I didn't dare ask.

"Luke… Back home, a few weeks ago… You told Jace and I that if we fought you'd take a belt to us. And this morning, you said you'd spank us on the spot… Did that back there qualify as a fight worthy of your threat?" Simon sheepishly and quietly asked. I mentally face-palmed myself. Vampire or mundane, he still managed to be an idiot.

Luke seemed to contemplate this a moment before drawing a conclusion. "No, I don't think it would. This was a different sort of situation."

I breathed a sigh of relief and noticed as Simon smiled, obviously relieved himself.

"But," Luke continued and we all noticeable stiffened, though I don't know why Clary would be nervous, "if for the remainder of the time we are here at the park, you boys get in the least bit physical…" Luke let his sentence fade as he smacked his open left palm with his right, conveying a clear message.

"Okay." We both answered. Clary looked up, confused.

"We're staying at the park for a while longer?" She asked. I noticed her voice still sounded thick with tears and emotion that she had been displaying just a little while ago.

"Well, if you kids want to, then yes. Simon, do you need blood very badly right about now?" Luke asked.

Simon shook his head. "No. I can handle it for a few more hours; I'll be fine, nothing will happen." He amended, sneaking a glance my way. I nodded at him and tried for a smile.

Luke smiled. "Well, then do you kids want to stay?"

We all nodded and he clapped his hands. "Great. Go do something." Luke remarked before taking a seat. Clary rolled her eyes and grabbed Simon's hand to pull him along. I didn't want to go home yet, but I didn't feel like doing anything either. I looked at Luke and he sighed.

"Aren't you gonna go have fun?" He asked me.

"I don't feel like doing anything." I answered. He patted his lap.

"Then, come sit with me." He invited and I shook my head, embarrassed. Luke rolled his eyes at my antics. Oh sure, he could roll his eyes and scoff at me but I couldn't do it to him without getting my tail set on fire. Yeah, that's totally fair.

"Oh come here, you baby." Luke laughed and yanked me down to sit on his lap, despite my protests. I tried to stand up again, but Luke locked me on him.

"No, my boy. You shall stay right here, like a little boy." Luke smiled and hugged me. I groaned but eventually stopped my struggling. I refused to stay sitting on his knee and tried persuading him to let me up anyways.

"Okay Dad, okay… Luke, let me up. I wanna go… play… with Simon and Clary." I tried and Luke laughed.

"Oh God, okay. I've tortured you enough. Go on, get out of here." Luke answered, letting me off his lap and sending me away with a playful pop on my butt.

I ran quickly to where Simon and Clary were and immediately noticed something was wrong. Clary was on the verge of tears and Simon, who had been trying to console her, glanced nervously up at me.

Did he make her cry? I would make him pay dearly if he did. I approached them and took Clary into my arms.

"Clary, what happened now? What's wrong?" I asked, wiping a tear off her cheek.

"Simon said he was going to leave and join Raphael's clan... I told him I didn't want him to go. He said he didn't care what I wanted, that I needed to think of what might be best for me and not only what I want, like a petulant child. He said he didn't mean it, he wasn't thinking after I started crying. It's just hormones or something."

I completely missed the last part of what Clary said. All I heard was what he had said that hurt her feelings and I decided to hurt him -not kill him, just seriously injure him. I tackled him and this time, he fought back.


	9. Fighting Again and the Consequences

Jace's POV

I drove my fist into Simon's jaw as I tackled him, surprised when he fought back and kneed me in the stomach. I twisted his arm back and he cried out. I couldn't believe that he had just made Clary cry, when she only wanted to help him, her best friend.

With the thought of Clary crying because of him in mind, I bashed his head against the ground. His mouth filled with blood and he shoved me off of him. I leaped up and kicked his legs out from under him when he stood up as well. I vaguely heard Clary crying out to stop fighting, but I didn't listen to her.

"Why the hell would you dare to make her cry!?" I hissed at Simon as I punched him again. I gasped when the vamp's fist connected with my jaw, eliciting a loud crack.

_Fuck, he better not have just broken my mouth…_

Clary was still screaming at us to stop when a crowd began to form around Simon and I. Over Clary's pleas, I heard blood-thirsty people chanting, "Fight! Fight!"

"Beat him to a pulp!"

"My bet's on the blond kid. He looks badass." Well, thank you.

I let myself get a bit distracted with all the comments people were throwing out as they watched the brawl, and Simon was able to knock me back down to the ground. I rolled onto my back and kicked him in the gut.

His unneeded air whooshed out of him before he punched me in the stomach. Unfortunately, I did need air and that blow just happened to take my breath away. My breath hitched as I struggled for air. Distractedly, I pushed Simon off of me and saw someone strolling over to us. I didn't get to see who it was, because at that moment, Clary decided to jump in the middle of the fight -literally. Thank God, she's short or my fist would have gone right through her face, but instead it flew a good five inches over her.

"Stop fighting!" She screeched and Simon and I stared at her.

"I'm fighting for your honor, Clarissa. Don't be ungrateful." I whispered before stepping around her and shoving the ex-mundane into a tree. He growled in my face and I got a good look at his fangs.

"Nice fangs you got there. Better make sure the mundanes don't see them -why don't I help you with that? I'll knock 'em clean out your mouth, and nobody will have ever seen them. Yeah, sound good?" I asked with a smile on my face before raising my arm to knock his teeth out.

I didn't even realize the group of onlookers had fallen silent, save a few amused or fearful whispers. Simon was a bloody mess and I'm sure I was too, but this last punch would be the last blow before I called it a day. It won't be too hard -just hard enough to knock out a couple of teeth, and maybe make him fall unconscious. Maybe.

I was about to swing when someone grabbed my hand from behind. I saw Simon's eyes widen in worry and fear before he slid down the tree's trunk and to the ground. I turned to see who dared grab me in the midst of a swing, but I froze when I noticed who it was.

Luke.

_Oh shit! He's gonna kill me, he's gonna whip me, and he's gonna do it right here in front of everybody! Oh God, oh shit, oh fucking hell! And why the hell does he look so calm? He should be furious -that can't be too good. _

Luke yanked my arm down and dragged me over to a nearby bench. The crowd of mundanes turned curiously to see what Luke was going to do to me. Clary was hiding her face in her hands and Simon was curled into a ball at the base of the tree I had shoved him into.

My breath hitched and this time is was from my nerves -Luke was really going to whip me in front of everybody! I wouldn't even be able to whine and complain, because he HAD warned me… This was not good at all. No, no, no.

Calm as ever and without uttering a single word, Luke sat down on the edge of the bench and hauled me over. He pulled me over to stand at his right side. I wanted to beg him not to go through with this -no matter how humiliating it would have been to beg, it couldn't be worse than getting the actual thrashing in public -but I couldn't find my voice.

_Goddamn it! Why can't I talk? Maybe if I tell him I'm sorry, he'll wait 'til we get home. _

I cringed at the thought. _But at least it'll be a private thrashing. _

"Please, I'm sorry! Please, don't do this, Dad!" I heard my voice and winced at how desperate it sounded. But I didn't care -I couldn't, not at a time like this.

"Dad?" I heard someone in the crowd whisper. "Oh shit, that's their dad! Or at least, that kid's dad… I think he's gonna whip him."

"Weren't they the same two boys that were fighting just less than an hour ago?"

"I think so, yes. Looks like their pops let them off easy, but now… Yikes."

"I'd be humiliated if my dad ever even thought of spanking me in public! I feel sorry for these guys."

I listened to the voices of the people, some pitying my current situation, others amused by it.

"He's gonna get a whipping from his daddy! He started the fight, he was winning the fight, and now he's gotta face his dad's wrath. Quick, give me my camera."

I struggled against Luke's hold. If he heard the taunts or sympathetic comments, he didn't seem to show signs of caring. He was going to go through with this. I could only hope he let me keep my pants on.

"I warned you, Jace." Was the only thing Luke said to me before reaching over with his free hand to undo the button on my jeans. I sucked in a breath and tried to back away, only to have Luke's hefty hand land a smack on my rear. I swallowed my yelp and continued to try to back away from Luke, but he would have none of that.

He released his hold on my wrist and replaced it with a handful of my upper arm. Like that, he was able to pull me closer. I continued to struggle, but Luke was able to unfasten my pants anyways. When they were loose, he gave them a few tugs and the fell to pool around my ankles. Thank God I was wearing normal boxers and not one of those girly ones Isabelle bought me for my birthday.

I fidgeted and shot daggers at the people watching who dared laugh. Luke shot me a glare and yanked me down over his lap.

I squirmed over his knees but Luke locked me firmly over his lap. I had no way of escaping.

_Oh God, please don't have him take down my underwear too. Please, let me keep at least a shred of my dignity… _

So far, all of my spankings except for one -which that one was really just a warm-up -had been done on the bare, and I prayed he let me keep my underwear on this time. I breathed a sigh of relief when he made no move to remove my green boxers as well.

I cringed when I heard Luke unbuckling his belt. As he took it off, it brushed against my side and I flinched away from it. Not because I was scared of Luke -well, sort of -but because the clinking sound announced that he really was going to belt me. He'd never done that before, so I had no idea what to expect.

I've felt Luke's hand come crashing down on my backside plenty of times in the past few weeks, but never his belt, though he's threatened me with it several times. I just knew I should be worried; which I was. Luke's hand hurt enough and the sight of his thick, leather belt made me wonder how much more it could hurt.

I heard Luke settle the coiled belt down next to him on the bench. Either he wasn't going to use it and was just trying to scare me, which he definitely did, or he was going to save it for later. I sure hope it isn't the latter.

"You know why you're in this position, right, Jace?" Luke asked me. Reluctantly, I nodded. Luke swatted my backside, hard.

"Verbal response."

"Yes, I do know why. It's for fighting Simon again, deliberately disobeying you, and disregarding your warning."

I felt rather than saw Luke nodding. "Very well, then I see no need for a lecture. We'll start with my hand and get to the belt later. I'm sure you won't be forgetting this lesson anytime soon, don't you agree?"

Before I could answer, Luke's hand came crashing down on my barely-protected behind. He wasted no time in setting my tail ablaze, covering every inch of my backside with his big, heavy, but caring hand.

**SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!**

**SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK**!

"Owwwwww." I whined as quietly as I possibly could with the fire that was being set on my behind. Luke was really not going to hold anything back, huh?

**SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!**

I tried to ignore the snickers emanating from the teenagers watching the spectacle. It wasn't too hard to not focus on them -all I could really think about was the pain blooming across my posterior.

Smack after smack landed on my defenseless bottom and I bit my lip to not cry out.

I had no idea how many times Luke had swatted me already, but I could tell that we were only just starting this punishment. He had warned me several times, I couldn't deny that -but I guess I never thought he'd really spank me in public.

It wasn't fair. A whipping for fighting Simon again? Fine. Public humiliation? Not cool.

**SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK** **SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK! SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK!**

I accidentally let out a yelp as Luke's hand came down a little harder and faster. I heard more laughter coming from the onlookers and I suddenly hated Luke for doing this to me. Not for spanking me, but for doing it in public, right in the middle of the park. I know I deserved punishment for fighting Simon -again -but I don't think that this was exactly fair. As long as the mundane, uh, VAMPIRE got a public spanking too, then I'll hate Luke a little less.

The burning in my rear began to burn a little too much and I started squirming over Luke's knees. I tried to not wiggle around too much -I didn't want the crowd of teenagers to notice and think that I couldn't take a simple spanking without a fuss.

But they noticed.

"Aw, he's trying to get away."

"I don't think that's going to work; it looks like his dad's got him locked tight."

"How are you guys not laughing? This is hilarious! It isn't every day some dude who thinks he's all cool gets a whipping in the park!"

"Don't record it! He might decide to kick your ass too!"

"And I'd let him if it meant I got to watch him get thrashed again."

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled through the burning pain. I had had enough of that snob's taunting -but yelling at him didn't seem like a very smart choice anymore. Luke landed fifteen scorching swats to my sit-spots in quick succession.

"Ouch! Ow, stop! Ow!" I yelled as the tears finally spilled over.

"WATCH your LANGUAGE and do NOT DARE to speak to ANYONE in THAT manner AGAIN!" Luke lectured me as he returned to spanking the rest of my bottom.

"I'm sorry…" I whined and winced when I heard my voice crack. I was losing it fast.

_Hell, who am I kidding -I already lost this battle! There's no way I'm going to stand up from Luke's lap and be able to look anyone in the eye. At least if I wouldn't cry, it'd be easier. But, I'm already crying. This sucks. _

I tried to reign in my tears as Luke's strong hand continued to pepper my backside with sharp, constant spanks; but I couldn't do it. This spanking hurt too much for me not to cry. So, I cried.

As Luke began working on my now tender under curve, I let out a howl. I wasn't going to hold anything back anymore -besides, it isn't like I'll ever see any of them again.

After a few more swats, I felt Luke stop smacking my throbbing rear. I let out a broken whimper in relief, until I realized he had only paused to get his belt.

"I hate to do this, Jace… But, I promised you a belting. So, here it is -you're gonna get ten."

"NO!" I screeched. I considered throwing my hands back to protect my sore butt, but I figured that wouldn't help. Luke would only push my hands away and lock them in place and I would have suffered more embarrassment at trying to prevent him from spanking me further.

But, I didn't think I could take anymore. It would have been different if he had just given me the belt the whole time -but he's gonna whip me after already having spanked me.

_I'm pretty sure this qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. Not so much child abuse, but… Eh. _

I tensed, trying to stifle my crying, as I felt Luke raising the belt high in the air. A split second later, I heard whizz through the air and come crashing down on my tender backside.

**CRACK!**

"Ahhowww!" I sobbed, no longer caring that anyone was watching.

**CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!**

The heavy strap continued to make its painful descent on my innocent behind. I vowed to never push Luke so far for him to feel the need to strap me again.

"Two more, Jace. Then, it's all over." Luke whispered, but I could barely hear him. I wasn't focusing on anything except the aching burn in my posterior.

Luke was true to his word, because two cracks later -both applied to my under curve -and it was over. I gave in and went limp over Luke's knees, sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't think, I couldn't see, and I could barely breathe. I choked for air that I couldn't gulp down because all that would come from me were more sobs.

I felt Luke pulling me up and fixing my clothes, but I did nothing more than hide my face and cry. It was so much -this was by far the worst spanking Luke had ever given me and hopefully will ever give me.

I couldn't say he'd abused me though -I wasn't hurt. Just hurting.

Despite being under the watchful eye of just about everybody in the park, I threw myself at Luke and he wrapped me in a warm, comforting embrace. I needed the comfort right now and I didn't care who saw -they had all already seen me getting a licking. What's the harm in letting them see Luke comfort me?

I tried to calm down as Luke ran his fingers lightly through my hair and rubbed circles on my back. He kept on whispering in my ear, "Sh, my sweet boy… It's alright, it's over… It's over…"

Luke's words were drowned out by my continuous sobbing, but I did manage to catch one phrase.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you, my baby. I love you so much… I'm so sorry…"

**A/N: I know Jace is not actually Luke's "baby"… but remember, Luke loves Jace like if he were his own son. So, he means it wholeheartedly when he calls Jace "son", "baby", and he means it when he says he loves him. I don't know how harsh you may think Luke was being, but feel free to let me know by reviewing -but if you're gonna say something, maybe not-so-nice, please TRY to say it nicely. Please, for my sake.**

**I hope you all liked this chapter. I worked VERY hard on it. Hopefully, I get some great reviews! The more awesome reviews I get from you awesome people, the faster I'll update. That is, if my wonderful Beta doesn't mind me sending her so much to Beta so quickly ;)**

**Please review and tell me what you think! I'll be trying to update my other stories soon too… Thinking about finishing up Three Rambunctious Teens: Cullen Style pretty soon too. Well, review and don't hate (: I love you guys! P.S. I, myself, feel kind of sorry for Jace, so don't think I'm insensitive for putting him through such a harsh flogging.**

**Until next time…**


	10. The Aftermath

Simon's POV

I was in a state of total shock.

When Jace attacked me for making Clary cry, I honestly couldn't blame him for doing it -but now that I had ability to fight back, I did. I don't know if it was for my pride, instinct, or an attempt to surprise Jace.

_Yeah, great for me. I fought back, so Luke is probably gonna publicly whoop me too! I should have just let Jace beat me up… But then, it would have been so much worse for him if he would've just beaten me. _

I sat in shock at myself. Why did I care what happened to that stupid Shadowhunter? The jerk was starting to grow on me.

What shocked me the most about this whole ordeal is the spanking Luke gave Jace -and it was quite a spanking indeed! I found myself trembling as I watched Jace crying and screaming over Luke's knees, and I actually found it in my heart to feel pity for Jace. I wondered if I was going to suffer the same fate. Probably. Luke had given me the same warnings as he had given Jace…

Panic swelled up in my chest at the thought of a public thrashing, but a little voice in the back of my head nagged me.

_**Jace took a public whipping. You can too. **_

_ Yeah, but Jace is tougher. He can take a lot more than me, even if I am a vampire now… _

_**That's why it must have been worse for him -the humiliation he must have felt… It's only fair. **_

I huffed, knowing my conscience was right -it was only fair that Jace and I suffer the same fate. Plus, I doubt I'd have any say in whether or not I would face similar consequences. If Jace couldn't convince Luke, then I sure as Hell can't.

I looked back up at the spectacle taking place before me -and the rest of the park. It seemed like Luke was determined to carry out his promises, because at that moment, he raised the belt high. I tensed in anticipation and practically felt Jace's fear. I cringed at the crack the belt made when it connected sharply with his sure-to-be already burning backside. I felt even worse when Jace cried out.

My mind still couldn't quite wrap itself around the thought that Jace Lightwood, the greatest Shadowhunter of all time, was lying across a werewolf's lap, screaming and crying while getting spanked like a little boy. I wondered what Alec, Isabelle, and everybody else would have thought about that.

As soon as the more-than-likely painful whipping was over, Luke righted Jace onto his lap and cradled him. My mind was working a mile a minute, trying to prepare myself for the battering my ass was probably going to take any minute now.

I knew Luke was talking because I could see his lips moving, but it was just about impossible to hear what he was saying. His words were drowned out by Jace's continuous sobbing and the crowd's loud comments.

By straining my vampire hearing, I was able to catch Luke one of Luke's whispered phrases -the one that probably held the most meaning.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you, my baby. I love you so much… I'm so sorry…"

My own heart constricted at the pain that Luke sounded like he was in for having punished Jace so harshly. I focused on the comments and jeers of the on-lookers in an attempt to distract myself.

"What a baby!" sneered one kid, while a group of his friends laughed and nodded their heads.

"This is SOOOO going on Youtube!" shouted another. I wanted to kill them all.

For some strange reason, I felt protective of Jace now, since he was so defenseless. It was an odd feeling, but it was there and I felt it. Maybe we could become friends after all. The sentiment was slowly growing.

I narrowed my eyes and accidently growled at some kid who was still recording the interaction between Jace and Luke. Jace was starting to calm down and apparently heard my growl because he glanced over at me with red-rimmed eyes.

The kid turned back to me, wide-eyed. "Did you just growl at me, bitch?"

"Yeah, I did. Shut the camera off, idiot. It's not funny what just happened to him." I venomously shot back at the idjit.

"The Hell it isn't! And if I didn't know better, I'd say you're next." he sneered. I curled my lip into a snarl.

"Yeah, I probably am. But, I don't care. Stop recording this." I stood up and took a few steps closer when the kid made no move to turn his camera off.

"Simon!" I heard Jace calling my name. His voice sounded thick with tears and shaky. "Don't worry about it." He said before he leaned his head back down against Luke's shoulder.

I sighed and glared daggers at the kid, who finally lowered his camera. I was relieved but nearly groaned when he started talking.

"The camera's going back on when that dude calls you over for your whipping."

I narrowed my eyes but said nothing. Instead, I went to go find Clary -which wasn't too hard to do, considering she was the only short girl with bright hair crying.

"Hey… Clary… Don't cry, Clary." I tried to soothe her, but to no avail.

"It's my fault! You two were fighting because of me and now Jace was humiliated and is probably not going to sit down for so long! And you're probably next… I don't like being the cause of any of this, Simon." Clary sobbed and my heart constricted.

"Clary, listen to me. None of this is your fault, okay? It's my fault, it's Jace's fault, but it's certainly not your fault. Get that through your head!" I said firmly but gently. Clary looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and I pulled her into a hug. My gaze reverted back to Jace and Luke, still sitting on the bench. Jace looked pretty recovered and he'd be heading over here soon, which means I would take his place. I wasn't too sure though -Luke looked pretty tired and heartbroken. I didn't know if he was up for delivering another whipping; physically or emotionally.

Whatever Luke decided to do, I wouldn't struggle. I steeled myself for the inevitable and concentrated on soothing Clary, until it was my turn over Luke's knee.

000

Jace's POV

I desperately craved Luke's comfort and forgiveness. I wasn't sure how I survived that whipping, but I did.

_If I was crying and screaming the whole time, does it still count? _

I shook my head and pushed my thoughts away. I blocked the crowd of on-lookers , so that I wouldn't be tempted to go over there and knock someone's teeth out for taunting me -it seemed Simon was ready to do that for me though.

My sense of hearing was better than a lot of Shadowhunters -so good, sometimes Alec would tease me, telling me I had vampire ears. But, his hearing was just as good, so his joke never lasted long.

I glanced over at where a kid was shooting footage of everything that was happening, and I was surprised to find Simon threatening him. I didn't understand why Simon would inch himself closer into a fight with that kid just for me, but I knew I couldn't let him. That would just land him in worse trouble. Why I cared? I don't know. Maybe because he's sacrificing his hide for me even after I had just attacked him.

"Simon!" I called and waited until he turned around to look at me. I cringed at how childish I probably looked, sitting on Luke's lap, with tear stains on my cheeks. My eyes were no doubt still puffy -I was still crying a little. "Don't worry about it." I told him before leaning back against Luke, feeling like I actually did need protection from the laughing crowd.

Luke hugged me tighter and I looked up into his face. I was only half-surprised to find that Luke was near tears himself. I knew he loathed punishing me, but I guess he thought he was too harsh. I didn't know what to think of the punishment except that it hurt and that if Luke deemed it necessary, then I deserved it.

"Jace…" Luke began but I cut him off.

"I'm really sorry, Luke. I promise I won't ever fight Simon again, I won't disregard your warnings… I'll be good in general." I promised him. I felt true remorse for everything that had happened and I wanted Luke to know that I meant it when I said I was sorry.

Luke sighed and ran a hand through my hair, obviously ignoring the comments about me coming from the other people. "Jace, I know you're sorry. I believe that you will try to behave, but I'm not kidding -you must control yourself." I lowered my eyes to avoid Luke's gaze, but he merely dipped his head to catch my eyes again. "Hey, none of that. It's alright, you've been forgiven, Jace. Okay?" He asked, wiping a stray tear from my cheek. I nodded and gave Luke the most convincing smile I could muster, considering the pain in my rear and the embarrassment that I was feeling.

"Jace, I'm sorry for punishing you so harshly. I -"

"No, Dad, you don't need to be sorry. I deserved everything you dished out -you were just keeping your promises. I deserved it. It's fine." I mumbled, leaning into Luke and resting my head on him. I hid my face in his chest, not only for comfort, but also because I was still too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. I was embarrassed at getting publicly spanked, at crying and squirming, but at my behavior. I had completely disregarded Luke, something I vowed to try extra-hard not to do ever again.

"Jace, look at me." He said softly. I shook my head no, but Luke wouldn't take that. "Baby, come on, look at me." He tried once more. When again, I didn't raise my head, Luke shook me gently. "Jace…"

I finally raised my eyes to Luke's. "I still don't think I should have been so harsh." I opened my mouth to protest -which was rather comical, I thought -but Luke raised his hand to stop me. "No, Jace, let me finish. I know I was just keeping my promises, and I am never going to go back on a promise, no matter what it is. I was just hoping that you'd never give me reason to follow through on these promises. Yes, you did deserve it and I am so thankful that you own up to this, but I still think I should handled you a little more gently. I didn't even let you tell me your side of the story, and for that I'm sorry, son. Would you like to explain to me what happened?"

Before I could answer, Luke held up a finger to silence me. "Wait." He commanded and I suppressed a laugh. Luke stood me up and I all but whined and cried to crawl back into his lap. He stood up and stepped in front of me as he addressed the crowd standing before us.

"There is nothing left to see here, ladies and gentlemen. There was nothing to see here in the first place, but I think you all have observed this scene long enough." Luke's voice was commanding and serious, and slowly the crowd of now-grumpy-teens dispersed. The only ones left near me were Luke, Simon, and Clary.

Luke sat back down and pulled me back to sit on his knee. I winced when my butt made contact with his leg, but he shifted me so my backside was now hanging off. Luke wrapped his arms around me. "Okay, now we can talk."

I smiled a little and began telling Luke of what had happened between Simon and I. By the end of my tale, Luke sighed deeply.

"So, you see…" I began once Luke didn't say anything. "It wasn't Simon's fault -he was only fighting back. I don't think you should spank him..." I had no idea where this was coming from, but I could say this -I didn't actually hate the little fledgling. I tolerated him, and I felt bad for attacking him. But, my pride and love for Clary took over, even though it was stupid and I had attacked the poor kid. It really hadn't been his fault. This time.

Luke peered at me curiously. "Young man, are you trying to talk me out of punishing Simon?"

"Yeah." I answered with a small voice. Luke shook his head, but he was smiling.

"Well, Jace. I'm proud of you. It looks like it took a fight, but you're finally treating Simon a whole lot better, even if it isn't directly. It's good to hear you sticking up for him when you know that something wasn't his fault. But, I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish him anyways -"

"Why? He was fighting back, not instigating the fight… I mean, we wouldn't have fought if I hadn't attacked him… It's just…" I couldn't find the right words to explain to Luke. He'd probably do what he thought was right anyways.

"Shhhh, listen." Luke tried.

"But -"

"No, no. No, sh. Be very quiet. Good. Okay, I get where you're coming from, Jace -but he fought you either way, and that merits a spanking."

I knew I couldn't convince Luke otherwise, so I tried to compromise. "Okay fine. But, please don't belt him. It really wasn't his fault."

"That wouldn't be fair to you, Jace."

"It wouldn't be fair to him if you did."

Luke sighed and began shifting me on his lap. I thought for sure he was upset and was going to push me off, but instead he pulled me closer.

"Jace, I am going to do what I think is right. Simon won't be getting as much with the belt as you did, but he will get it for fighting." When I opened my mouth to protest, he gently swatted my backside. "That's enough, son."

I pouted but was safe in the knowledge that I had at least tried to rescue Simon from this punishment. Besides, Luke said Simon wouldn't be getting as much with the belt, and I had only gotten ten. Maybe Simon will get five.

"In Simon's place, I thank you for trying." Luke said, smiling. I rolled my eyes and smiled back. "Alright, kiddo."

Luke began to lift me back onto my feet, but I resisted for a moment. "Are you gonna spank him here too?"

Luke sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Jace."

"Are you?" I persisted.

"Yes."

"What about the kids? They'll come back and film his whipping too."

"I'll get rid of them after, like I got rid of them just now. End of discussion, kid."

I nodded, resigned. I felt bad for Simon, but I knew there was no changing Luke's mind once it was made up.

I allowed Luke to push me to my feet and offered him my hand to help him up. He gently declined and I knew that meant Simon's turn was going to be in the next 30 seconds or so.

Luke massaged his right hand a little bit before giving me a small smile. "You've got a hard backside, Jace."

I laughed. "Your hand is harder." We laughed for a moment and then grew serious. "Does it still hurt?" I asked, semi-hopeful.

"Nope. Werewolf healing, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"Alright, kid. Please go tell Simon that you're sorry and send him over here, will ya?"

Luke didn't have to tell me to mean it when I told Simon I was sorry -he knew I meant it.

I walked over to where Simon and Clary were at, slowly. I didn't realize I was stalling for Simon until nearly a minute later, I was still in arm's reach of Luke.

A swat landed sharply on my backside and I yelped, tears springing to my eyes. I turned back to look at Luke.

"You know I don't condone stalling, whether it's for yourself or for someone else, Jace." Luke said semi-sternly.

"Sorry…" I muttered before quickening my pace towards Simon and Clary. When I came close enough, Simon stood up.

I looked Simon straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you, Simon."

Simon smiled a bit. "It's alright, Jace. I know why you did it." He held out his hand. "Friends, maybe?"

I shook his hand. "Yeah, friends. Sort of." We both laughed slightly. "Thanks for going easy on me with the forgiveness… and for sticking up for me against that kid with the video camera."

"Don't stress it, Jace. And, I would have attacked you too if you had made Clary cry."

"I know you would have. I guess, I just hated that you made Clary cry, so I wanted to see you crying too… But, you will be in a minute." I said this last part somewhat reluctantly. "Luke wants you over there, now."


End file.
